Access to high-quality care is the top priority in health care. As we look toward the changing demographics of patients and clinicians in the future, it is clear that our current methods may not be able to keep up with the demand for care. To protect and advance current and future access to care for all patients, we need to get creative, to think outside the box, to innovate.
Coming Changes that Impact Future Access to Care
The health care environment has already undergone seismic shifts in the past few years – and there is no sign of that slowing down in the future. There are a few changes that combined to make the goal of quality and accessibility even more difficult than previously:
1. Physician shortages
The long-standing physician shortage is expected to worsen, especially in certain areas. Recruiting medical students and residents to train and practice in rural or less desirable areas is already challenging and likely to remain so.
2. Patient expectations
Patients expect greater access to virtual health care, including virtual clinical encounters and online appointment scheduling through user-friendly patient portals or apps. They also want to be able to securely message and text with questions or concerns and get quick answers from qualified health care professionals.
3. Operational sustainability
Hospitals are facing reimbursement changes, spiraling complexity with regard to diagnoses and billing, and inflationary pressures on both the costs of medical supplies and equipment. These changes are jeopardizing operational sustainability and threatening the ability to fairly compensate clinicians while maintaining high-quality, uninterrupted care.
Balancing the Needs of Patients, Clinicians, and Hospitals
Taken together, the above trends point toward a complex set of needs to be balanced – those of patients, clinicians, and hospitals.
Patients desire timely, convenient, and affordable access to health care, enabling them to see a doctor when needed. Their instructions need to be easy to understand and any prescribed medications or follow-up appointments must be attainable. They seek assurance that their medical records are readily accessible to all their health care providers and that they will remain connected to their clinicians and care team members before, during, and after acute care episodes. Finally, they require care plans they can adhere to and which respect the social determinants of health.
Clinicians, meanwhile, want less paperwork, and more time for patients. As a group, they want a way to take care of more patients that doesn’t compromise quality or negatively impact clinician mental health. They want to have confidence in their ability to get reimbursed for the care they provide, and they want access to support and resources that help them continue to grow and develop in their practice and career.
Finally, hospitals and health systems require financially viable operational models to deliver consistent, high-quality care. Implementing evidence-based systems and processes is essential for achieving optimal patient outcomes and ensuring the long-term sustainability of health care organizations.
Hospitals need to attract and retain qualified clinicians and staff, which requires creating a supportive and rewarding work environment that fosters clinician satisfaction and minimizes turnover. Meanwhile, they need to continue to improve the efficiency and accuracy of documentation and billing. All of this ultimately goes toward supporting their mission of delivering exceptional patient care.
How Innovation Could Solve the Challenges
Developing a hybrid care ecosystem
A hybrid care ecosystem aims to provide patients with equitable, high-quality care by diversifying where care is delivered and how clinicians interact with patients. This model acknowledges that health care services can be delivered in various settings, including hospitals, traditional office settings, and even patients’ homes. This flexibility allows for a combination of approaches to best meet individual patient needs.
Within a hybrid care ecosystem, clinicians can see patients through in-person visits, virtually using telehealth technologies or through a combination of both. This allows for a more integrated approach where virtual care complements in-person visits. For example, a patient diagnosed with congestive heart failure (CHF) during an in-person doctor visit could be placed on a remote patient monitoring system to allow for virtual checkups and communication with their care team.
Reaching underserved areas
Telehealth can transcend geographical barriers to expand the reach of specialized care, especially to rural and underserved communities where access to specialists is limited. Additionally, telehealth can enable 24/7 access to health care services, making it easier for individuals in underserved areas to seek timely medical engagement.
Hospitals and health systems must also innovate around efficient operations and staffing models. By implementing streamlined workflows, leveraging technology for administrative tasks, and optimizing resource allocation, hospitals can operate more efficiently and direct resources where they are most needed. Meanwhile, health care systems can alleviate the burden on physicians and improve access to care in underserved areas by utilizing NPs and PAs as part of collaborative, physician-led care teams.
Addressing social determinants of health
Many factors impact patient outcomes – appropriate clinical care is only part of the equation. A patient’s social determinants of health play a big role in whether or not they heal.
Building trust and loyalty with patients is crucial, particularly in underserved communities. When clinicians track social factors, they are better able to understand patient needs and situations. By taking those into account for treatment plans, clinicians can improve adherence to treatment plans, reduce readmission rates, and enhance data collection.
On a bigger scale, hospitals with measuring and reporting processes in place will be able to track what the greatest needs in their communities are. Adjusting processes to match the needs of the patient population can help to address disparities in health care.
Short-Term and Long-Term Solutions
The challenge of delivering high-quality care that is also accessible, while balancing the needs of patients, clinicians, and health systems, requires both short-term and long-term thinking. In the short term, immediate needs can be met with existing technology for quicker, easier implementation. For example, virtual triage can reduce wait times and improve emergency department throughput.
In the long term, investing in research and developing new models and workflows is crucial to ensure continued access to care in the future.
If hospitals and health care organizations can successfully innovate both now and into the future, the result will be a more stable care environment in which patients and clinicians alike can thrive.
Learn more about improving quality and accessibility through innovation in hospital-at-home programs.
