The way healthcare will work

The focus of the past 10 years has been on preventing readmissions, and now in the next 10 years, the focus will be on preventing admissions.

Value-based outpatient care is the future. The business model for the future of healthcare will not be focused merely on increasing volume rather improving health outcomes, coordinating care and cutting waste.

The federal government will continue to move away from fee-for-service reimbursements to value-based care reimbursement models. And as the number of private payers following suit continues to grow, the notion of fee-for-service will eventually become a thing of the past. That is not because of the developments that we have been experiencing but more the need for decentralized and affordable primary care.

There will be more use of technology to allow for more remote patient monitoring. This will help to improve outcomes and also cut down on the costs associated with hospitalizations and other care services.

The healthcare industry will continue to be under immense pressure to cut costs. This pressure will cause a lot of consolidation within the industry as smaller hospitals and clinics are bought out by larger ones.

The Affordable Care Act will continue to be a controversial topic. Some states have started reimbursing remote monitoring and CMS provides billing codes for such services, but the majority of the states are still struggling and are unwilling to adopt to the changing environment in healthcare.

The way we train future physicians will have to change. The traditional medical school model of 4 years of education followed by a 3-year residency will not be sufficient in the future. With the advances in technology and medicine, physicians will need to be lifelong learners and be able to adapt to the ever-changing landscape of healthcare.

The cost of healthcare will continue to rise as the population ages and the prevalence of chronic diseases increases. This will put a strain on the already struggling healthcare system.

The future of healthcare is uncertain, but one thing is for sure, the industry is changing and it needs to continue to evolve to meet the needs of the patients.