The past year shows the healthcare industry still reeling from the after-effects of the pandemic. Delayed care has put many patients at risk and rising medical costs, especially medicines. Add to that the shortage of healthcare professionals to further compound the problem. However, there have also been opportunities for innovation and growth, particularly in the use of digital technology to deliver care.
The journey towards digital transformation continues and this year is set to turn pandemic disruptions into more consolidation and coordination of patient-focused care. There are emerging patterns and opportunities to look forward to with experts in the industry looking into three technology predictions that will bring about a clinical revolution.
So what is the role of technology in the healthcare landscape in the near future?
Current Trends In Healthcare
To know which areas will most likely undergo a transformation, a look into current trends will provide the context as well as the impetus:
- Virtual care during the pandemic provided care without subjecting patients, especially those with chronic conditions, to the risk of infection. However, the virtual care setting has also created clinical fragmentation and failed to prevent the emergence of care silos, which happens when there is no proper coordination among various providers.
- Pharmacy roles are recognized as the most accessible healthcare provider in the community. Its role in the future is set to continue particularly in direct patient care.
- Telehealth usage skyrocketed during the pandemic and innovation continues with new entrants and stakeholders.
- Rising medical costs, particularly prescription drugs impacted patient health in 2022, which prompted legislative action.
- At the end of 2022, the FDA has issued guidance with the goal of improving patient safety in the use of medical devices.
- A pressing concern in the industry is the rise in the number of retiring nurses. According to a report, a global shortage of nurses will reach 13 million by 2030. A good percentage even in pre-pandemic times have considered changing careers or leaving their present job of directly caring for patients. The result is the loss of trained medical professionals and challenges in staffing to provide and support patient care
Technology Predictions for 2023
These current trends point to possible changes in three key areas, namely, the clinical setting, care approaches, and the use of clinical knowledge.
Extending the clinical setting
Technology will transform the clinical practice setting to fill in any gaps in care. New solutions will usher in relevant changes in the role of pharmacies, the use of telehealth, and the application of research.
A new pharmacy practice model
Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians will most likely be involved in direct patient care in the years ahead. This change collides with the emerging practice of retail healthcare that sees big industry players trying their hands on primary care and home health spaces. This collision will further increase inefficiencies in the allocation of resources and or a breakdown in communication among different providers; all of which could bring harm to patients.
This is where technology can bridge the gaps through the creation of clinical decision tools that coordinate between settings and reduce variability, improve coordination, and ensure that there is just one source of evidence-based information for every touchpoint. This new model will benefit from tighter regulations and restrictions.
Evidence-based telehealth
Telehealth will be enhanced through accurate clinical information and evidence-based research (EBR). There are now groundbreaking initiatives for the technology to expand care access and evaluate the efficacy of remote care using an established evidence base.
Evidence-based telehealth will be driven by research that is funded by both private and public entities. There will be more clarity on patient targeting, utilizing remote teams, and more importantly, recognizing the difference between telehealth that is offered to mitigate access issues or as a choice. Evidently, remote care will continue to be compared with in-person care, especially in managing chronic disease.
Much-improved coordination across an increasing number of players will ensure that clinical information and telehealth research are effectively used. Experts believe that the so-called “last mile” of virtual care will become an industry priority in 2023 with a focus on scaling care standards and fostering alignment among all stakeholders, namely, patients, providers, and tech developers.
To address the challenges of EBP, artificial intelligence (AI) can close the gap. New technology will most likely include AI-powered solutions to standardize and accelerate EBP research to improve care.
More inclusive educational content
In both a virtual and traditional clinical setting, providers should be able to provide customized and more inclusive patient education content for their patients. It is predicted that in 2023, there will be new outreach solutions to offer such content that would reflect diverse patient populations categorized by age, race, gender, family structure, and more.
Emerging tools in care
The patient journey, which has been at the center of value-based care, will significantly gain ground in 2023 with the following emerging tools:
Accurate health documentation
As the healthcare industry copes with post-pandemic challenges, it is even more critical to have a complete and accurate health record to reflect not only the severity but also the risk of illness. Technologies that improve data coding and interoperability will also be largely helpful in population health management, performance metric reporting, and the effectiveness of value-based care.
Technology predictions for 2023 start with accurate health documentation and the emergence of Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) specialists. CDI managers can potentially close the critical gaps, wherein a gap is created when healthcare professionals document patient care and translate the information into ICD-10 codes for health insurance companies and CMS. This gap shows how clinical logic differs from coding logic.
There will be more reliance on CDI specialists, consolidating clinical practice, health plans, and CMS. This will markedly improve provider efficiency and optimize patient care. Moreover, this solution will usher in increased government pressure because of the program’s cost that exceeds traditional Medicare and the pressing demand for documentation of patient medical conditions.
More insights into specialty medication management
Technology will ramp up specialty medications using FDA-approved biologics and biosimilars. This move will push drug prices down while ensuring the medications used have gone through rigorous revaluation as to their safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness.
Patient safety in medical devices
There will be more research on post-market monitoring and post-approval of these devices as well as stricter health IT oversight. Naturally, the big HIT innovators will encounter more rigorous regulations and will lean on technology solutions to take on the burden of compliance. Clinical leaders will benefit from partnering with companies that can take on this burden and enable their internals to focus on caring for patients instead of navigating the complex compliance requirements.
Innovative nursing staffing models and clinical information
In 2023, providers and academic entities will utilize technology to advance solutions that can fill or scale already stretched resources. They will continue to push for digital transformation, reach out to more learners, promote competencies, and invest in alternative care models to deliver care. Those organizations who dared to innovate will emerge victorious amidst the staffing shortage. Moreover, nurses will opt to work for healthcare organizations that adopt innovative care solutions and competency-based staffing models, especially as the industry is still facing many post-pandemic challenges.
Virtual education and training for nurses will provide a new and immersive learning experience for students. This will equip them with practical skills, the ability to work in teams, and the best exposure to the real complex cases that nurses usually handle in a real-life setting. The goal is to make nurses better prepared to tackle real-world clinical practices. Technology will improve medical education and training with the use of virtual and augmented reality.
Finding the right partner
These 2023 technology predictions that can transform care delivery as we know it will usher in a more settled and equipped healthcare system forever changed by the pandemic. Pressing issues still remain to make care affordable, regulations to ensure public health benefits, and clinical staffing to deliver timely care. Through innovative solutions, the clinical setting has become far-reaching and care teams are engaging patients at any time and place. In addition, new staffing models have the potential to resolve the shortages and brain drain while pushing for the best care delivery possible.
Ascent Care Partners provide turnkey virtual healthcare services like Chronic Care Management (CCM) and Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM). You can innovate your care using our solutions and tools so you do not have to risk substantial capital investment and increased overhead. You can grow your practice clinically with our care team and our unique patient engagement methodology. And also financially through Medicare’s reimbursements.
We work with the following providers:
- Primary Care Physicians
- Family Practice Physicians
- Internists
- Physician Assistants
- Nurse Practitioners
- Gerontologists
- Non-Interventional Cardiologists
- Endocrinologists
- Wound Care Doctors
- and other providers
