Future of Healthcare - The Leading Physicians of the World

Healthcare changes around the globe such as a rise in chronic diseases, rise in the aging population, and urbanization are the major things to look at when trying to predict the future in healthcare. Such trends have posed concerns and strains in healthcare systems as there are already existing issues in cost, quality, and access of health care. With this in mind, you should realize that new treatments models or techniques are needed to integrate elements of prediction, automation and prevention to make health care efficient and affordable.

This article will explain new treatment paradigms and also highlight key areas that are expected to change in each sector. Challenges that the healthcare industry is likely to face in achieving better care for the future are also explained in the article.

Below are some of the things that are likely to experience change in the future of healthcare:

1. Healthcare Technology

Healthcare technology is the transforming tool for physicians’ roles. With technology, diagnosis and storage or organizing of growing patient information is simplified. Physicians of the future are going to have many alternatives when it comes to decision making. With so many data points, they may not make the right decisions without the assist of a computer.

One may think there will be difficulty adapting to e-prescribing, EHRs, and patient registries, but in the next one or two decades there is hope for more advanced and accessible healthcare information technology. The field of personalized medicine that relies on the patient’s genetic information to help conduct medical protocols and treatments for each patient will continue to expand meaning there will be more information. EHR technology that helps collect and present that information for physicians is successful. This information will be organized in a way that it will be available and useful for physician decision-making support.

For a long time medical experts have been pushing for EHR integration and adoption to continue. According to research done in 2008, more than 44% of doctors used partial or full EHRs. Only 6.3% of the doctors used fully functional EHRs. This means that for the next 10 to 20 years, more integrated systems and EHRs will be used for better sharing and storage of medical data.

Emerging healthcare technologies will also expand options for when and where patients are seen. Doctors will perform their procedures in the office without moving around the hospital. This will make health care more accessible and convenient. Some of the digital machines which are less accessible such as ultrasound, EKG machines and MRI machine will be brought in the doctor’s office for accessibility.

Online visits will also free physicians and allow them to consult other physicians or see their patients in different locations. Technology will also give patients active roles in their medical care. Many patients will also access home-monitoring technologies that will give them a chance to be more active in their own care.

Successful application of healthcare technology will be effective is healthcare providers and patients are tapped into the same software to enable co-ordinates care.

2. Medical expenditure

With the introduction of new healthcare technology, medical expenditure is likely to increase. Introduction of new technologies is not easy and will require extra cash for any healthcare facility. Changing the current reimbursement structure for physician will also need extra expenses for any facility. Medical expenditure is predicted to decrease after the introduction of new digital healthcare products but still more doctors are opting for hospital employment which means that hospitals will spend more on them.

Technology in healthcare means there will be less healthcare spending for patients. For example, online visits which allow patients to access their doctors online will save patients time and cash compared to when they see their doctors in office.

3. Health insurance

Health insurance plans are predicted to go beyond concierge. In concierge medicine patients are allowed to pay a retainer fee for highly personalized care. This will be beneficial to the physicians as there will be fewer headaches which will create more time for patients care.

As for other care delivery models, concierge models will also evolve to hybrid concierge where patients who want to pay cash for extra services can do so, reducing health spending for those who are not willing. Due to the adaptation of a patient-centric model in care, hybrid concierge will be a solution. With this model, patients are also able to choose the best health insurance plan for their care.

4. Health jobs

Health jobs will no longer be solo as before, but a product of teamwork. This means that the traditional role of small practice primary care physicians or solo providers will shift automatically. Primary care physicians will not be eliminated completely but they will take responsibility of organizing and co-coordinating other healthcare providers such as nurses and physician assistants. This is a model that has already been explored in the patient-centered medical home pilots. According to this model, physicians will not as central providers play their role as team leaders and as before. This shift has been predicted to the high demand for primary care and the shortage of primary care physicians. 

Due to the emergence of healthcare technology, the healthcare workforce is likely to evolve, expanding the capabilities of mid-level medical providers that will give physicians a chance to adapt to their new roles. Technology will also enable a shift in health jobs through a process known as “disruptive innovation” that enables commodification of experience. New healthcare technologies will commodity skills and experience by making health jobs easily taught and performed. It has been applied in other industries, meaning that mid-level practitioners can perform well once relegated to more highly trained. In the healthcare industry, what was once done by specialists, will be done by generalists and what was being done by generalists will be done by non-physicians.

We can predict that many primary care physicians will be interested in taking the position of care coordinator as it is so in patient-centered medical home pilots. If technology can assist physicians have a better and coordinated care, you can imagine it will take less time for technology to help nurses have a coordinated care.