We have successfully reached the second half of the year 2022. And if we take a glance at the world around us, it’s pretty evident that COVID-19 isn’t ending anytime soon. Stringent regulations influenced almost every sector, and we witnessed that industries across the globe held off their priorities to address the challenges that had to be contented immediately.
The deadly pandemic triggered sweeping changes across various areas of modern society, and the healthcare industry was no different. Fortunately, healthcare organizations quickly came on board with these changes because they didn’t want to be caught on the hop should another global health crisis crop up. As a result, massive digitalization made its way into the healthcare continuum to meet the challenges.
Various healthcare policies and widespread technology implementation altered the healthcare landscape in the past two years. Additionally, the expanded adoption of the healthcare delivery models has normalized things as organizations have started to address their priorities.
So, what does the year 2023 hold for the healthcare sector? Let’s take a look at some of the prominent trends that will shape the industry:
Increase in staff shortages
The staffing shortages in the healthcare industry will continue to be a matter of increasing concern in 2023. According to the data shared by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), the US could witness a massive shortage of physicians, from 37,800 to 124,000, by the year 2034. Not only this, but the US is also amid a nursing shortage, and the issue is likely to exacerbate. Approximately one-third of the existing nursing workforce will likely retire in 10 to 15 years.
Given this increasing demand, there’s no right time like the present for individuals who wish to pursue this far-reaching career to join the nursing field. Today, nursing schools have introduced online ABSN programs for those who wish to make a career transition and pursue an impactful and meaningful career.
The accelerated BSN programs provide individuals with a fast and smooth track to step into the nursing field and positively impact others. These online programs compress the coursework of conventional degrees in a brief span without compromising the quality of the curriculum. Thus, allowing the professionals to become a part of the incredibly gratifying field and bridge the shortage gap.
Focus on behavioral medicine
A wide range of chronic health conditions today is due to changes in behavior. Smoking, substance abuse, and excessive eating are a few leading causes of morbidity. Not to mention approximately half of the premature deaths in the US occurred due to behavioral and preventable factors. Considering this, it’s hardly surprising that behavioral medicine will gain more traction in the forthcoming years.
Behavioral medicine encompasses various aspects of occupational therapy, biomedical and psychosocial science, biofeedback, and psychology. And it primarily deals with the treatment and prevention of psychosomatic disorders. It’s safe to say that, in many different ways, behavioral medicine targets the relationship between physical and mental well-being. Perhaps that’s why most physicians suggest forest bathing and walking in nature to boost mental health.
Various therapies of BM, such as aversion therapy, desensitization, and classical conditioning, will help individuals combat mental health issues in the future. In addition, since BM blends with conventional medical treatments, it’s likely to play an instrumental role in treating obesity in the years ahead.
Personalization in healthcare
As people now begin to take reins of their health, they anticipate an experience that’s befitting for their health history and current circumstances. Modern physical health apps such as calories checker and step counters have grown enormously popular as these become a means to receive holistic care. Not only this, but mental health apps have also become commonplace today. Such applications enable users to set up an account and find the best therapist according to their needs, preferences, and budget.
While this personalized healthcare technology has been promising to some extent, impediments such as inadequate information standards and interoperable tech are still a part of the system. Nonetheless, in 2023, we can expect transformations in personalized healthcare technology. For instance, gamification techniques will surely bring a positive change in the healthcare sector as video-style operations will help motivate people to perform better.
In addition, personalization can revamp the healthcare landscape if implemented correctly, i.e., by keeping both consumers and healthcare organizations’ perspectives front and center. It can lead to greater consumer satisfaction and higher healthcare value, meaning: enhanced patient care quality with fewer costs.
Use of robust strategies to combat security issues
In today’s fast-paced digital realm, healthcare enterprises are capitalizing on cloud-based storage systems, the internet of things (IoT), and big data to improve patient outcomes and boost operational efficiency. While these advancements provide substantial benefits, they also come with privacy threats and data leaks.
The healthcare industry has been experiencing growing concerns over data breaches, privacy issues, and unethical use of patient information. According to the US government’s data, the healthcare breaches in the initial five years of 2022 have increased approximately two-fold compared to the same period of the previous year. In addition, the IT and hacking incidents in the healthcare industry also increased to 67.3% in the year 2020. Not to mention the average cost of a data breach in healthcare reached a whopping $9.42 million in 2021, according to the IBM Security report.
Since patient-centricity and trust are the core of healthcare organizations, hackers consider this sector an attractive target and cash in on sensitive patient information for monetization. Nevertheless, today, healthcare players are partnering with high-tech organizations to securely manage and share the extensive amount of data. So, we can anticipate effective practices and more robust strategies in 2023 to extenuate massive losses instigated due to security breaches.
Final Words
Since the COVID-19 global pandemic outbreak, the healthcare industry has put in tremendous effort to prioritize advancements that enhance patient care, including the proliferation of technology. As a result, today, healthcare practitioners and patients trust the value digital health services bring, and people understand and acknowledge these modes as the means to receive and offer care.
And although everyone knows that the healthcare sector isn’t a one-size-fits-all, cutting-edge technology has enabled providers to develop relationships with patients outside of clinical settings. Not only this, but the recent technological advancements have allowed professionals to draw up personalized treatment plans.
So, it’s safe to state that, throughout 2022 and beyond, various external forces will continually inspire healthcare practitioners and insurance companies to assess fundamental value propositions. And we can expect an invariable industry change due to regulatory compliances, multiple care-delivery channels, and cybercrime susceptibility. In sum, the growing significance of stellar patient experience will force healthcare enterprises and their regulators to identify the need for innovation and continue meaningful widespread developments.