Trends And Trends In Healthcare

1292 Words6 Pages
The United States has a healthcare system that is developed and intricate. It thrives on innovation and collaboration to foster an environment that includes enhanced equipment, advances in treatment and improved delivery of care. With the advent of new technologies and advancements in medicine, many challenges and trends have emerged across the industry. My research has produced three top trends the first is changes to the current payment or reimbursement system. It appears to be one of the most significant financial challenges for health systems. The second trend is that healthcare is experiencing a rise in consumerism as patrons are looking to make the best decision regarding the quality and cost of their care. The third trend produced…show more content…
Merely put healthcare patrons are looking to make the best decisions regarding the quality and cost of their care. Several factors are contributing to the shift and increase in consumerism. First, patient’s interactions within the healthcare system are shifting from being less episodic to more ongoing and even consisting of daily communication. With additional advances in communication, consumers are accustomed to having immediate access to information. Many patients can access detailed information about important factors such as a physician's experience with a particular procedure or a hospital's complication and readmission rates (Kolman, 2017). For the healthcare industry, the focus is shifting to becoming less transactional and more meaningful and emotion-based. Therefore, patrons have higher expectations for the quality and delivery of their care. Another contribution to the shift and increase is changing cost structures like the institution of new payment models previously stated. Finally, consumerism which was a topic of discussion well before healthcare reform was passed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) fast-tracked the need for investors to revisit their standard market approaches (Bearder, Carter & Harve, 2013, p.3). Therefore the law is meant to create a consumer choice and increase affordability and provide another positive contribution to the…show more content…
Several factors have contributed to the growth of telemedicine one of which is convenience. According to Donohue (2016), part of such convenience is the ability of patients to avoid having to drive to the doctor’s office and spend time in the waiting room. Also, with an active telemedicine program, an organization can extend its reach to a much broader area and provide access to care to those that might typically be limited regarding options. By a health system extending its reach to rural communities, for instance, they’re offering improved access to care, enhanced quality of care and a reduction in cost. Kruse et al. (2016) maintains that telemedicine is not yet ubiquitous, and barriers vary widely with limited reimbursement and technology being two of them. It has improved over time and hopefully as insurance providers see more of the value associated with telemedicine the reimbursement barrier should be less of an issue (Discussion and Conclusions section, para1). As it currently stands telemedicine is having a majority positive effect on the industry and as technologies improve and consumers become more comfortable it will have continued
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