January 4, 2022 – As COVID-19 continues to change the way hospitals and providers strategize their business models and care for patients, Healthcare Finance News reported on some top trends from the last year and an outlook for the future. Here are some of the key trends in healthcare today:
1. Staffing shortages are expected to remain a pressing issue for providers heading into 2022. Physicians, nurses and other staff are burned out by the ongoing pandemic. Numerous staff have left hospitals and practices for jobs that are not on the front lines of pandemic healthcare.
2. On the plus side, COVID-19 spurred moves in innovation not thought possible before March 2020. Telehealth saved care delivery during the lockdowns and is now being integrated as a regular part of business.
3. Beyond telehealth, digital health is taking a step forward, even if many leaders have yet to commit on where to put their money. According to Healthcare Finance News, Lumeon’s market research about the technology and digital health priorities for leaders at large hospitals shows that the majority of leaders also plan to invest heavily in digital transformation. Healthcare leaders see digital transformation, including automation, as a way to cultivate a proactive, end-to-end experience for patients and make more efficient and effective use of care teams.
4. The Hospital-at-Home model is a growing market. The Hospital-at-Home concept increases the number of beds available and has the financial advantage of being able to backfill lower-acuity patients from the hospital to the home for a patient with higher-acuity levels, which results in better margins, according to Mark Larson, principal of Sg2, a subsidiary of Vizient.