As 2023 comes to a close, Becker's recently connected with Calie Santana, MD, senior medical principal for innovation for St. Louis-based Evernorth Health Services, to hear her perspective on the trends that defined the healthcare industry in 2023.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. If you would like to contribute to our next question, please email Amelia Ickes at aickes@beckershealthcare.com.
Increased fragmentation: The emergence of new digital tools and point solutions is solving important health challenges for patients, but can add to an already-fragmented healthcare experience for patients and drive up the overall cost of care. End-to-end solutions, where benefits are integrated and patients are seamlessly connected to the most appropriate care for their conditions, are key to meeting the heightened demand for more value from patients.
Plateauing vitality: The Cigna Group’s 2023 Vitality in America report revealed that nationwide, vitality — or the ability to pursue life with health, strength and energy — is plateauing, and Americans are struggling with work stress, loneliness, and declines in physical and mental health. Our research also showed that Generation Z has the lowest levels of vitality of any generation, and mental health challenges play a considerable role in their lower vitality.
Prevalence of health inequity and the impact of social determinants of health: Health care access, environmental factors, socioeconomic status, education, and neighborhood attributes — or social determinants of health — continue to have a more significant collective impact on health and health outcomes than the clinical care people receive. An area that illustrates the crucial need to understand the impact of societal and health system determinants on outcomes is maternal and infant mortality. Using data to identify areas of opportunity is becoming more sophisticated and impactful, as are new and innovative ways to understand the medical and social conditions that affect maternal and infant health outcomes.