Healthcare data and analytics provider Definitive Healthcare, which acquired HIMSS Analytics' Data Services in January, has released results from its 2019 Healthcare Trends Survey. It polled over 1,000 healthcare leaders on their thoughts about the trends they think will be most important this year.
Professionals from a variety of areas (e.g., provider, biotech, financial services, staffing, life sciences, IT, and consulting) responded. Industry consolidation came out on top, unsurprisingly, followed by consumerism, telehealth, artificial intelligence & machine learning, wearables, staffing, cybersecurity, and other issues.
“As the industry continues to evolve and shift, and health systems and IDNs increase in complexity, all participants in the industry need to stay abreast of what’s happening in order to make the best strategic decisions for their businesses,” said Jason Krantz, CEO of Definitive Healthcare, in a company news announcement.
· Industry Consolidation – More than 25 percent of those surveyed pointed to the rapidly-consolidating healthcare landscape as the most important trend this year for healthcare professionals. In 2018, Definitive Healthcare says it tracked 803 mergers and acquisitions and 858 affiliation and partnership announcements, a trend it expects to accelerate further into 2019.
· Consumerism – more that 14 percent of the votes indicate that patients are becoming more like consumers who are shopping for lower costs and convenience, which means healthcare providers will have to find new ways to attract and retain patient populations.
· Telehealth – Just under 14 percent of respondents think telehealth is the next most important healthcare trend in 2019. Definitive Healthcare’s 2017 Inpatient Telemedicine Study also showed more than 70 percent of respondents said they prefer video visits with primary care providers than in-person visits.
· When it comes to staffing concerns, just over 11 percent reported that staffing shortages are a concern, which is a bit surprising as other surveys, namely those taken by clinical professionals, tell a different story. For example, the 2018 Critical Care Nurse Work Environment Study from the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses shows inappropriate staffing was an issue noted by more than 60 percent of participants. Only 39 percent of respondents said their unit had appropriate staffing more than 75 percent of the time. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing reported a 3.7 percent enrollment increase in entry-level baccalaureate programs in nursing in 2018 – not enough to meet the projected demand for nursing services. The organization noted another 2018 survey conducted by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing and The Forum of State Nursing Workforce Centers showing that 60 percent of the RN workforce is age 50 or older and that the Health Resources and Services Administration projects more than 1 million registered nurses will reach retirement age within the next 10 to 15 years. Perhaps this information isn’t reaching the C-suite. Similar concerns have been expressed in supply chain surveys as well.
· Cybersecurity, EHR Optimization & Ancillary Technologies also received less than 12 percent of the votes each. However, a small commissioned survey of 100 healthcare executives shows that 46 percent considered cybersecurity to be a top challenge over the next three years. Another 48 percent said their organizations would be investing in maintaining and upgrading current IT systems.
· AI & Machine Learning – just over 11 percent think this category is an important development this year.
· Wearables – Although this market is projected to reach $12.1B by 2021 and remote monitoring projected to grow to $31.3B by 2023 – almost double where it is today – this trend was ranked least important by respondents with only 5.3% percent marking it as an important trend.
