Healthcare Predictions for 2023
2023 is right around the corner, and it is anticipated that it will usher in new challenges and focuses in medicine. Not only will technological advancements continue to enhance the way patients are treated, the way organizations treat their clinicians will need to change as well. No doubt, it will be a year of significant change for healthcare workers and administrators around the world.
Prediction #1: AI Will Continue to Gain Traction
Artificial intelligence will continue to drive healthcare innovation in 2023, and care providers (as well as clinicians) will need to seek training and education to adjust to this quickly evolving landscape. One exciting new way artificial intelligence will support doctors and nurses is by revolutionizing the capture and analysis of surgical video. Touch Surgery™ Enterprise, the first AI-powered surgical video management and analytics platform for the operating room, is on the cutting edge of the AI-in-healthcare revolution. Studies show that video analysis can improve surgeon performance, and Touch Surgery Enterprise makes it easier to connect operating rooms to the cloud to seamlessly record and upload video and uncover new insights. The device uses AI to automatically upload surgical videos without the need for USB drives, DVDs or encrypted drives so surgeons, surg techs, and nurses can access and analyze surgical videos more easily. In 2023, healthcare workers will see the implementation of more technologies like this to enhance the quality of diagnostics and patient care.
Prediction #2: COVID’s Impact Will Continue
In 2023, especially during the winter, COVID will continue to make its way through the United States and will remain a part of the national healthcare landscape. We are already seeing full ERs in many cities due to COVID surges, and while the majority of the country is adapting to “post-COVID-life,” nurses are still feeling the burden of cases rising this season along with the flu and RSV. Due to this, healthcare providers will continue to focus on the downstream effects of COVID, and we will see a push toward preventative healthcare and chronic disease.
On the bright-side, COVID-mediated innovations in the healthcare system, like the broad adoption of telehealth, will be here to stay with increased resources to support it.
Prediction #3: Healthcare Organizations Will Focus on Solving Clinician Burnout
In 2023, healthcare organizations will be forced to look at the underlying causes for burnout in their systems. They will hopefully realize what many of us have known for a long time: that being a worker on the frontlines of today’s healthcare landscape is taking a toll on the mental health of clinicians. And because of the heightened need to retain employees, healthcare organizations will begin to fix it. This may look like: promoting and honoring clinicians in an authentic way, making significant changes to the daily life of clinicians with a renewed focus on self-care, providing more flexible scheduling options, and promoting equity in benefits across the board for employees. Acknowledging that clinicians are the product in most healthcare organizations, there will hopefully be a significant shift in focus on the person rather than the profit.
Takeaways:
While the expansion of technology and impact of the pandemic are certainly central to the future of healthcare, I believe that the most important focus for healthcare organizations will be on enhancing the lives of their clinicians. Nurses are at the heart of healthcare administration, and it will become more and more important to boost clinician retention and reduce burnout.