The last two years have taken a major toll on our industry as we responded to COVID-19. It has also been a time of amazing accomplishments. As we celebrate both Hospital Week and Nurses Week this May, I find myself thinking a lot about the state of our industry and how we build now for a sustainable future.
First and foremost, I’m grateful to the those who serve on the frontlines of providing care. Those caregivers have risen to the challenge of the pandemic repeatedly to support their patients, each other and the community. As a communicator, I’ve been honored to help get their inspirational stories out to the public.
The American Hospital Association is sharing stories from people like me this week about how we got involved in healthcare and letting us share our gratitude for those frontline caregivers – and our teams – as part of its annual hospital week social media campaign. This is my brief story:
You can see additional stories here.
Overall, this quote from the AHA website is a great way to sum up my feelings:
“Our caregivers have taken on unimaginable challenges and have risen to the occasion repeatedly and we think it is essential that others see the pandemic from their perspective. We are proud and we are grateful. During National Hospital Week and all weeks, we recognize the 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, and others who provide care to their community."
The future of healthcare
As we look to the future it is truly a time of challenges and opportunities in healthcare. Earlier this year I took part in the SHSMD Orientation to Healthcare course where I shared my predictions for the future. I think these are the trends that will dominate the next decade:
More outpatient services
More telehealth (aka video visits)
Leveraging technology to improve the experience
System consolidation
A slow move from volume to value
Payers will still be big players
“Hospital at home” will be a thing
Generational changes will drive new expectations
No matter what anyone says, hospitals and health systems will have a key role in the future of health care
It’s an exciting time! Let’s embrace the possibilities this week and during the rest of 2022!
Opmerkingen