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10 Trends for 2024: Absorbing New Technology, Facing New Realities, and Solving Old Problems
The healthcare industry is advancing in many exciting ways. New technology is leading to breathtaking possibilities for higher quality, more efficient patient care. Broader applications of telemedicine are opening new doors for communication among providers and between providers and patients. ASCs and disruptors, such as Amazon and Walmart, are changing the landscape of care delivery.
The industry is also facing new realities due to demographic and environment changes. Gen Z is entering the workforce as “digital natives” who are pushing for the use of online tools as a routine aspect of day-to-day work. The explosion in the number of seniors in the U.S. is forcing the industry to come to grips with delivering care to older adults, especially those considered “frail elders.” Warmer temperatures and historic weather events are leading to new illnesses, exacerbating some existing ones, and causing the industry to prepare in more expansive ways for catastrophic events.
At the same time, old challenges are holding the industry back from the rosy future it would like to embrace. The pandemic continues to place a heavy burden on the industry and has led to many problems becoming worse while everyone was looking the other way. Financial margins continue to be low for many healthcare organizations. Cybersecurity breaches are growing exponentially, maternal mortality rates are embarrassingly high, and opioid abuse continues to rise at an alarming rate.
As we look to 2024, we will examine these issues and discuss their likely impact over the next 12 months.