2022 was indeed an unforgettable year, full of innovation, inspiration, and ideas. For many, this year has marked the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, which has led to more social interaction and community involvement after a period of pandemic-driven lockdowns.
All in all, this year contains some amazing titles. Here are a few of the key health topics for 2022:
Labor shortage: amid labor shortages, increased demand for health care, and ever-present changes in workplace culture, health care has seen some of the most serious recruitment challenges this year. For years, experts have unequivocally acknowledged that there is a significant shortage of doctors nationally, which has resulted not only in incredibly long wait times, but also in dramatically reduced access to care on a national scale. In addition, in many hospital systems this year, the shortage of nurses has been a significant obstacle to the effective operation of the hospital; after all, even if the hospital has a bed, a patient cannot be admitted unless there are staff to actively manage that patient. Therefore, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 194,500 annual vacancies for registered nurses over the next 10 years, with an annual job growth rate of approximately 9%. In reality, these labor problems and labor shortages are nowhere near being solved.
Health care technology: Over the past few years, the transformation of healthcare technology has attracted a lot of attention, as organizations have reiterated the benefits of digital tools and how they can significantly improve patient care and outcomes. However, with the economic downturn in 2022 and in the technology sector in particular, healthcare innovation has slowed significantly. Take for example Amazon’s decision to shut down its Care platform at the end of 2022. Per Neil Lindsay, Senior Vice President of Health Services at Amazon, “This decision was not made lightly and became clear after many months of careful consideration… even though we signed up. members liked many of the features of Amazon Care, it was not a comprehensive offering that was sufficient for the large corporate customers we were targeting, and it would not be viable for long.”
Investing in healthcare: global investment, not to mention health care, has declined. A large part of the reason is because investment firms and companies are trying to conserve cash, especially considering the recession, rising costs, and improving economy. Compared to last year, investments in health innovations have dropped dramatically, indicating that investors are wary of what the coming years will bring to the market. However, rest assured that this is only temporary, as industry leaders are still aware of the critical issues facing the healthcare field and are eager to try to solve them in better economic conditions.
A deep sense of cooperation was witnessed among the group of health care providers.
Redefining care: for many, 2022 has been an opportunity to assess what is most important and what people really value in their lives. As for the quality of life, since the world has recovered from the epidemic in 2021, many see what it means to live in fear every day, especially those who were at high risk of the virus, such as the elderly and those with other diseases. diseases associated with health. With the advent of Covid vaccines, many communities regained a sense of freedom, and found a new definition of quality of life.
In terms of health care as a whole, this sense of increased quality has never been more important. At the system level, organizations are increasingly pushing to shift to a value-based care (VBC) model to incentivize key stakeholders for clinical outcomes, rather than service value (eg fee-for-service).
Similarly, founders see a huge value premium in putting patient comfort first. One of the prime examples of this is the great importance systems now place on telehealth and digital services; as the pandemic shines a light on how important it is for some people to stay in their homes, these virtual health services hope to solve that critical resource gap by giving patients access to care in the comfort of their own homes. Taking it a step further, the idea of bringing the “hospital to home” has grown significantly this year, as organizations increasingly look to care at the patient instead of the hospital. Indeed, this is a revolutionary way of thinking.
Undoubtedly, 2022 has seen a significant range of important developments and cultural changes in the healthcare environment. The above are just a few of the important news topics, although there are many others that impact the industry. Time will tell what 2023 will bring in this changing and challenging industry.
