The COVID pandemic brought about many challenges for medical practices and the healthcare industry. It also revealed many failure points for access and equity. However, the healthcare industry met the challenges brought on by lockdowns, quarantines, and operating in a pandemic while keeping patients and providers safe. The pandemic thrust change and technology into the forefront and helped push providers to embrace new technology and practices. But what lasting impact has COVID had on the healthcare industry? What will the healthcare industry need to prioritize post COVID in 2022 and beyond?
Problems in the Healthcare Industry
While no one was ready for what COVID brought with it, the pandemic shined a light on several problems facing the healthcare industry. Mainly, in its use and adoption of new technology. Prior to March 2020, most medical practices did not engage in telehealth, or virtual, visits. Waiting rooms were packed with both sick and well patients. And payment collection focused on collecting payments in person at an office visit. “The pandemic has revealed some shortcomings of our healthcare system, from inadequate financing to inefficient care allocation. However, the crisis has also demonstrated that the technology to deal with some of these difficult challenges is already here, we just need to know how to make proper use of it. Addressing long-neglected problems and adopting modern solutions to solve them should be the primary concern of any healthcare manager”.1
Changes Medical Practices Made During the Pandemic
Despite the existing inadequacies within the healthcare industry, medical practices reacted quickly to adapt to the challenges COVID presented. Practices wanted to continue to provide quality care for their patients, but they wanted to do so safely. As such, most practices immediately brought on telehealth services. These services enabled doctors to meet virtually with their patients and enable remote patient monitoring for those who needed it. Patients were able to manage their health in a safe manner. Aware that patients had concerns about safety, offices also established virtual waiting rooms. Patients were now able to call their provider upon arrival and wait in their car until the provider was ready to see them. Finally, many offices began to expand their payment collection options, including mobile payments, online options, and text reminders for payments.
Priorities for 2022
While the healthcare industry experienced tremendous growth during the COVID pandemic, industry experts have now had time to analyze their priorities for post COVID and into 2022. One of the largest issues looming over the healthcare industry is staffing. Not only will providers need to deal with staffing shortages, but they must also address the mental health and morale of their staff. “The healthcare industry is already facing a shortage of up to 139,000 physicians by 2033, without accounting for the impact COVID-19 has had on healthcare professional mortality and job disruptions, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) predicts.”2 In addition to hiring more staff, practices have been concentrating efforts on increasing staff morale. Some practices have been trying to restore bonuses despite a decrease in revenue, while others have tried to support their staff around team building and mental health support.
While many providers had to rush its implementation, telemedicine, remote patient programs, and virtual waiting rooms are here to stay. Not only are these services convenient, but they also help improve patient safety. In today’s climate, patients do not feel safe coming into an office for a well check or non-urgent matter. Offering telemedicine and virtual waiting rooms are small ways providers can improve patient outreach and satisfaction. In a recent study by the Medical Group Management Association [MGMA], 97% of providers surveyed reported that they had expanded their telemedicine services. However, only 21% of those practices currently offered remote patient monitoring.3 Remote patient monitoring is crucial for some patient groups because it allows them to track things like blood glucose readings, blood pressure, lung function, heart rate, and sleep patterns, for example. These readings are then sent to a provider for monitoring or diagnosis.
In Conclusion
Medical practices need to continue to be open to adopting new technology. They also need to continue to improve the technology that they hastily brought on during the pandemic. Now is the time to take a step back and analyze what is working and what is not working. This analysis will allow practices to not only meet the current needs of their patients for convenience and safety, but it will also allow them to be ready for future challenges.
For More Information:
References:
