Top 5 Challenges Healthcare Workers Will Face in 2022
The U.S Healthcare sector has been rapidly evolving over the past decade, it’s not only about treating patients anymore. The continuously changing government regulations and unforeseen challenges like Covid-19 have struck a blow on the healthcare industry. Additionally, shifts in patient expectations and swiftly changing technological innovations have altered the way healthcare is practiced in the US. Therefore, to adapt to the situation healthcare providers will have to up their game.
Covid-19 has a profound impact on almost every business sector. Healthcare organizations are still struggling with the same challenges they faced at the start of the pandemic. Moreover, the leaders of medical delivery systems will face unique and troublesome challenges in 2022 and need to be alert and flexible in their responses to break the ice.
Let’s discuss some of the major challenges healthcare workers will face in the year 2022:
Increase in Telehealth:
Before Covid-19, telehealth represented less than 1% of total healthcare volume. In the first few months of the pandemic more than half of the physicians and healthcare practitioners used e-healthcare systems. Researches show that not only the patients but the majority of the healthcare service providers responded positively towards the implementation of telemedicine. Following are some of the collective responses:
- Almost 80% specified that this system has increased the timeline of care.
- Telehealth allowed 75% of the practitioners to deliver high-quality care.
- About 70% of caregivers are looking forward to increasing its use.
Understanding the value of telehealthcare is crucial for medical and billing service providers. They should be prepared for the increasing demand for e-healthcare. This includes having properly trained staff, the right type of equipment, and the environment. However, face-to-face interaction will still be needed in the future for treating patients with Alzheimer’s and related diseases.
Need for Transparent Pricing and Effective Payment Models:
As discussed above there is a sudden shift from outpatient visits to telehealth visits, that’s why consumers are demanding transparent and effective healthcare pricing and payment models. The CMMI has released a new strategic vision for the next decade, considering health equity a major pillar. In 2022, providers will start to see the signs of how this vision will be implemented.
New payment models will benefit both the patient and the organization providing healthcare. This would reduce operational costs, improve patient outcomes and help in maintaining the profitability of the organizations. Yet again confusion in medical bills and payments can be a huge challenge for the practitioners. Since all the data has been digitalized in healthcare there could be chances of missing information. Therefore, medical teams need to be sure of collecting accurate data to avoid any inconvenience.
The shift in Patient Expectations:
Continuously changing regulations and technology in the healthcare field has affected and may affect the patient experience and expectations. As, in the above discussion, many patients and practitioners are shifted to telehealth during the breakdown of coronavirus. Patients expect a more streamlined experience that competes with other consumer brands they’re familiar with.
The shifts in patient experience and expectations can be a hurdle for the organizations providing more than one service at different locations. Managing a huge amount of data from different cultures and locations can be a huge challenge for medical practitioners. They should be aware of all the updates in trends and technologies. Most importantly, medical practitioners must be aware of the change in consumer expectations and demand.
Workforce and Recruitment Challenge:
With the changing trends and technology in the US healthcare industry, medical organizations will need more qualified and conscious staff. Telehealth shifts made it a requirement for the practitioners to hire workers who are well aware of using technology. In addition, changes in medical payment models and billing code sets arise a new challenge for providers.
Medical care providers would be in the process of educating their staff about all the changes in regulations and technology.
Ensuring Data Quality and its Availability:
Other than having up-to-date knowledge on the ever-changing rules of the healthcare industry, providers must be known of the challenges they will face while collecting and maintaining data. Additionally, providing the data when it’s required. This data can be used to help healthcare providers to make betterment in treatment protocols.
Medical teams should be sure of the accuracy of the data they are collecting, which is quite a big challenge. Moreover, in the healthcare field, it is becoming increasingly important to make data-driven decisions. If there’s a lack of information then data scientists and analysts would not be able to use data more efficiently. This could result in a poor health care service for patients.
Bottom Line:
Facing these challenges and overcoming them will shape the future of the healthcare industry into a more streamlined and sustainable sector. Finding new ways to improve patient care and outcomes is vital for healthcare managers.
