Current trends and developments in the health care system

As we reflect on the many revolutions that changed the healthcare climate, it’s time to look forward.

As the business of providing healthcare becomes more complex, so does the process of treating individual
patients. Instead of looking through a myopic lens that only allows a provider to see a patient with an
illness, clinicians and their multidisciplinary teams are now collecting socioeconomic information as part
of the care process. Where a patient resides, employment, family situation, etc. all affect an individual’s
health and clinicians should include this information throughout the care process. Social determinants of
health (SDoH) impact mortality, morbidity, life expectancy, healthcare expenditures, and health status
and functional wellbeing, to name a few. They also cause major disparities in health and healthcare.

The data clinics, health plans, and hospitals are collecting today is far richer than it used to be  and can
highlight inequality. Data shows, for example, a stark disparity when it comes to healthcare cost being a
deterrent to getting care. Anywhere from 10 percent to 22 percent, depending on race and ethnicity, did
not see a doctor because of the cost, and anywhere between 19 percent and 35 percent delayed needed
medical care because of the cost

The time to prepare for change in healthcare legislation, healthcare access and delivery, and payment
methods is now health systems need a clear goal and a strategic plan, based on their current knowledge,
that will help them get there.

As health organizations continue to evolve in an everchanging landscape, digital health, alternative

payment models, and better data, including social determinants of health, are key pieces to the puzzle.
Health systems have opportunities to improve like never before; new types of organizations are entering
the healthcare industry with new ideas, technology is changing the method of delivery, and patients are
demanding price transparency.

The only way for health systems to remain successful, and flexible, is to be willing to try new ways of
healthcare delivery and to never lose sight of the reason the organization exists to provide the care to each
patient, when, where, and how they need it.

Reference: https://onlinenursing.duq.edu/blog/important-trends-in-healthcare/