2018 is shaping up to be an unusually challenging year for healthcare providers. On top of the typical revenue cycle management and payer reimbursement concerns providers deal with every year, there is ongoing regulatory and political uncertainty which could adversely impact revenue.
Meeting these challenges is a difficult balancing act. Internally, there is ever greater demand to better consolidate data from all available sources and generate analytics to improve patient care and assist in operational planning. At the same time, providers are dealing with patients who are more technologically savvy, desire to have more input into their care delivery and expect providers to make tools available like other industries they interact with on a daily basis. Patients also expect their interaction with healthcare providers to be personalized to meet their individual needs. Finally, there is constant pressure to manage the existing environment in the most cost-effective manner possible in order to free up funds, to the extent possible, for these new initiatives.
All of these patient expectations come amidst more uncertainty than usual related to funding for IT investments. That being said, it is critical for healthcare providers to invest in IT in order to:
- Deliver personalized care and improve patient experience
- Provide high-quality care
- Manage the health of the populations they serve
- Connect more seamlessly with others in the healthcare delivery system
- Better communicate with patients
- Remain competitive
How can a provider possibly meet these challenges? Stay tuned as my colleagues and I take a more in-depth look at the top trends impacting healthcare providers in 2018.
