As we move one year further out from the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the healthcare arena continues to shift. What are the anticipated trends for 2023, and why does this matter for community hospitals?
Staffing and Workforce Issues
It appears that staffing shortages are here to stay through the end of 2023. Demand is particularly high for professionals such as nurses, unit coordinators, and technicians.
Potential reasons for the shortages include the commonly mentioned issues of burnout and increased turnover. With an estimated 20 percent of healthcare workers leaving the field during the pandemic, this continued shortage should come as no surprise.
Community hospitals can plan to help address the shortage in several ways. It is easiest to start by retaining existing staff as opposed to recruiting new staff. Hospitals have been creative in their efforts to work with staff and combat shortages by offering flexible schedules and leave policies to employees and creating new staffing roles. Additionally, many are prioritizing investments in employee mental health and well-being.
Data Use for Coordinating Care Improvements
Electronic health records (EHR) have been useful in increasing accessibility of healthcare records and ensuring universally available data. As we enter 2023, there will be added emphasis on changing the way we approach technology to make care more patient-centered.
Data does little good if it cannot be converted to useful information to create meaningful change. The ability to combine data from various sources offers the opportunity to dive deeper for added insights – and the increased emphasis placed on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) tools will help manage and process the colossal amount of data efficiently. Community hospitals can use AI to implement evidence-based practices, where patient preferences are taken into account with a combination of provider expertise and best available evidence.
Another major trend community hospitals can use to improve care is remote patient monitoring (RPM) services, which provide real-time data on vitals, blood glucose levels, weight, and more. These services can help reduce the number of in-person visits and streamline the care process.
Data Security
The growth in global data continues to explode and is anticipated to grow more than twelve-fold between 2015 and 2025 to an astounding 181 zetabytes. Our industry is rightly expressing growing concern over data security, especially considering how much of it is available and the sensitive nature of the data itself.
Some healthcare entities are discussing the potential to tackle this security concern in 2023 through blockchain technology, which helps make digital records “transparent, authenticated, and unchangeable” while offering secure data sharing.
While some data security efforts may seem overwhelming to smaller community hospitals, they can still benefit from changing their approach to risk analysis by focusing more on identifying devices with old operating systems and software that may be more susceptible to attack. In addition there are opportunities via security assessments to find and address potential weak points or through partnership with a Virtual Chief Information Security Officer (vCISO), who can regularly assess security measures.
Improving Patient Engagement
One of the big questions in healthcare lately has been, “how can we better motivate the patient to become involved in the care process?” Better engagement of patients can improve outcomes and quality of life.
As mentioned, we expect to see more of a focus on engagement consumables such as wearable devices and apps, which will experience mass projected growth. A greater emphasis on equipping patients with the proper knowledge and technological tools to manage the clinical, financial, and administrative facets of their care will also be useful for community hospitals in 2023.
Ensure a Better 2023 with TPC
The healthcare industry is constantly evolving. At TPC, we provide Members with a network of support and a selection of options to help them stay ahead of current trends and succeed throughout the challenges they face. Your community hospital can benefit from our services starting in 2023 and beyond. Learn more about how TPC can support you and how we’re “Stronger Together” by contacting us today.