It’s hard to believe that we are almost halfway through 2018. The first five months of the year flew by and there are only seven left. The landscape of healthcare is an ever-changing unit as it has morphed over the first five months of the year and will continue to do the same for the rest of the year and beyond.
Healthcare is a vital part of our society. Just imagine life without it. It would be like taking a trip back to the 18th century. I definitely take my ability to receive immediate, professional care for granted. It’s something that I’ve never had to live without. I’ve never had to struggle through a major sickness or injury without the oversight of a trained professional, and because we have this luxury, it’s important that we understand the issues that are constantly shaping and changing healthcare.
Let’s take a look at the issues that have and will continue to express the state of healthcare this year.
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
If we had the opportunity to automate the monotonous tasks that take away from duties that hospital workers need to be performing, shouldn’t we take the necessary steps to do that? Tasks such as accounting, payroll, scheduling, and regular paperwork that take up a lot of employee’s time could be automated in order to give them more time to do the important tasks more efficiently and effectively.
According to an article written by Healthcare IT News, 3 out of 4 healthcare executives plan on investing in this type of artificial intelligence within the next 3 years. Offering the opportunity for their employees to be able to focus on the more important tasks, allowing them to provide more attention to them, likely leading to more effective work.
RISE IN MEDICARE ADVANTAGE
People between the ages of 50 and 64 need to be informed of the advantages of Medicare by the organizations that they are associated with. According to Healthcare IT News, only 28 percent of individuals in this age range claim to have been notified about Medicare Advantage.
The article states, “The federal government is ramping up reviews of Medicare Advantage plans,” PwC wrote. “To avoid penalties, health insurers should manage risk by focusing on members, paying particular attention to services such as timely member notifications, an adequate network, and up-to-date provider directories.”
OPIOID CRISIS
The Opioid Crisis has been a clear issue in the United States for the past several years and it is no surprise that the healthcare industry is doing everything it can to put a stop to it, or at least suppress it. According the US Department of Health and Human Services, 116 people died every day from opioid-related drug overdoses in 2016. That number alone should be enough to spark a movement to stop this crisis. In total, 42,429 people died from overdosing on opioids while 2.1 million people misused their opioid prescription for the first time, showing us that if we don’t do something now, this problem will continue multiplying.
Care management programs are going to be a big focus this year as they could provide us with information that could help to detect at-risk opioid patients. “Combining public and private health data may reveal new insights and areas of focus,” PwC wrote. “In Massachusetts, data sharing across many government agencies has made it easier to find at-risk opioid patients.”
PATIENT PERSONALIZATION
Time doesn’t stop. Neither do patients. Most patients don’t want to take time out of their day to stop in for a check-up. One of the best and most exciting trends for 2018 is patient personalization. The breadth of data that we can acquire in today’s world opens up many different opportunities. With the data that is gathered for each patient, it gives offices the ability to personalize care for a certain patient instead of offering the same style of care to everyone. Not all patients prefer the same type of care.
This data will help to be able to personalize things like what doctor the patient sees, whether they want to be seen in the office or remotely, their health history, and what times work best for the patient based on their schedule. Instead of having to search through a jumbled mess of records, the patient’s health records are right there; treatment and recommendations can be made immediately.
Knowing and understanding the issues and changes that are happening in healthcare is imperative because it is something that impacts our daily lives. You never know when you or someone you know could positively benefit from the changing and improving landscape of healthcare.
If you have any questions or comments, give us a call at (812) 277-1499 or email us at contactus@espyservices.com and we would be happy to talk with you.
As always, thanks for reading. Have a wonderful day and enjoy yourself. We will see you next week.
Written by Trey Turner – TTurner@EspyServices.com
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