How Next-Generation Care Will Be More Patient-Focused?

Hospital operating margins were hovering in the 2% range before the global pandemic wreaked havoc on providers and payers in March 2020. Even with two “normal” months in 2020, operating margins plummeted 55.6% compared to 2019. Even with CARES funding, margins remained down nearly 17%. 

At the same time, demand for healthcare professionals continues to grow, depending on medical specialty and geography. The shortage is especially acute in rural areas. Reasons include an aging and sicker population, with 60% of Americans living with one chronic condition and 40% living with two or more. Burnout affects about one-third of physicians at any given time, although the long hours and crush of COVID-19 patients may have exacerbated the problem in the past year and led to greater shortages of healthcare workers.

If an organization has to make do with fewer workers, technology can fill in some of those care gaps to engage patients more fully in their care while keeping credentialed employees working near the top of their licenses. Technology can shift some compliance and administrative burdens from providers to patients, benefitting both.