Seven physicians recently connected with Becker's to discuss the innovations rising in popularity they are watching.
Editor's note: Responses have been lightly edited for length and clarity. If you would like to contribute to our next question, please email Paige Haeffele at phaeffele@beckershealthcare.com.
Question: What healthcare trends are you most excited about?
Michael Davis, MD. Chief of Urology and Surgical Director of the Renal Transplant Program at the University of New Mexico Health System (Albuquerque): Changes in healthcare have seen dramatic increases in the last 10 years, and post-pandemic trends have accelerated innovation in an industry that has traditionally lagged behind other industries. In my opinion, one of the most exciting trends in healthcare is artificial intelligence. The fact there are now multiple startups in AI and healthcare backed by private equity shows that I am not the only one that thinks AI shows a lot of promise. The recent announcement by Epic that it is blending AI into its EHR system with an ambient listening system is a great example of how AI could possibly decrease time per encounter, allowing for more face-to-face time with patients. AI will help decrease the administrative burden for providers and be used as a tool to enhance practice efficiency. This will allow for a better healthcare consumer experience. I am excited to see the products that will be available to healthcare professionals in the next 10 years.
The second trend that is exciting and was accelerated by the pandemic but has shown to be greatly useful in healthcare is virtual healthcare. This is a great example of how technology can make healthcare more easily accessible to patients without the need to come to an office. The trends in other industries have shown that the days of brick-and-mortar space are no longer necessary. Examples are Amazon, Netflix and Uber. Healthcare is no exception. In certain areas of healthcare, this is a viable and sustainable option that increases patient satisfaction.
Mental healthcare services, chronic condition management and even some urgent care issues can all be performed in a virtual setting. As long as delivery can be remunerated, virtual healthcare is an option that patients want and organizations should deliver. This trend is being pushed forward with new practice paradigms and legislation supporting the need for this type of care delivery. Hybrid care delivery using both virtual and in person care will be a trend that continues as long as it is supported by payers.
Finally, a growing trend in the healthcare industry is the entry of successful, innovative non-healthcare organizations into the market. Companies like Amazon, Google, Apple, Walmart and Microsoft have seen a need in the healthcare industry and are becoming major contributors to healthcare. The healthcare industry needs disruptive innovators to come and help with the problems that are being faced by all of those who work in the field. Cost, quality, safety and patient/provider satisfaction are all things that will benefit from innovative ways to deliver care. Burnout is something that is being seen throughout the industry. Perhaps innovative ways to deliver care that allow provider satisfaction (decreased administrative burden) and great consumer experience will be the trend of the future.
Other exciting trends are wearable devices, personalized care, hospital at home, and even gig employment to fill healthcare employee positions during times of shortage.
Tirun Gopal, MD. Physician at Sutter Health (Allentown, Pa.):
1. Movement of healthcare from outpatient and hospital to the home of the patient. It reduces cost of care, leaving the patient in the comfort and familiarity of the home.
2. Increasing awareness that we need more primary care physicians and new guidelines for medical school to graduate more primary care physicians.
3. Incorporation of artificial intelligence into medical care with a note of caution. AI will certainly enhance care by reducing the workload of the providers and reducing redundant work. But we have to be alert to problems associated with AI, especially when it gains sentience.
4. Awareness that medical school curriculum should include the business of medicine.
Thomas Lee, MD. Chief Medical Officer at Press Ganey: As hard as the last few years have been, I believe that an increasing number of healthcare delivery organizations are interpreting the need to get “back to basics” as really focusing on what patients are going through and improving that. Revenue maximization isn't really a focus that sustains the motivation and resilience of caregivers in our work over the long term. The path forward is one that focuses on patient-centered, value-based care.
Granville Morse III, MD. Medical Director of System Service Lines at Ochsner Health (New Orleans): So I know everyone's excited about AI, but I'm probably not as excited as everyone about that. I'm most excited about technological/digital advancements that will provide a benefit to the patient and to the clinician. At Ochsner, we've made significant strides and created different ways of access into our system, but it can be akin to a five-lane road coming into a one-lane road — and that's not as efficient on the backside. That starts at our registration at our medical assistants at our LPN or RN ends and goes all the way up to the physicians and advanced practice providers. If we can find ways to create better patient outcomes and more comfort for the patient and at the same time provide more efficiencies and comfort on the clinical side, I think that's what I'm most excited to see as we move forward.
Louis Nel, MD. Neurosurgeon and CEO of Spine Africa (Pretoria, South Africa): I am most excited about the new technologies that will lead to pathology targeted approaches, with less morbidity for the patient. The combination of robotic surgery, computer-assisted surgery, AI and endoscopic surgery — not as single entities — will lead to less fusion surgery.
Most surgery will be done in ASCs, and this will be driven by the patients, the surgeons as well as the payers, who will all benefit from the advances. The only losers will be the big fusion companies, who will have to adapt to other technologies.
Radhika Prabhakar, MD. Section Head of General Internal Medicine/Primary Care, USC Department of Medicine (Los Angeles): In my opinion as a primary care physician, I'm most excited about a couple of trends.
1. The continued prominence of alternative payment models and emphasis on value-based care in the ambulatory setting.
2. The potential for artificial intelligence to assist in documentation. I am slightly more skeptical about its use as a diagnostic modality.
Jagmeet Singh, MD. Cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital and Professor at Harvard Medical School (Boston): I think one of the things I'm really excited about in healthcare is remote monitoring of patients and being able to manage patients from a distance — where they are and where they'd like to be seen from and managed from, rather than having to work their way all the way into the hospitals for every little thing.
That's one aspect. To put it in a very concrete way, I would say I'm really excited about virtual care that is sensor aided, that is powered by predictive analytics that now has some sustainable workflows that will lead to better clinical outcomes. That kind of encompasses all the different aspects of care that I'm really excited about: virtual care sensors, because they're changing how we administer and look after patients, predictive analytics, because that's the artificial intelligence-based component of care.
All of this has to be integrated into our clinical workflows to translate into better outcomes. I'm interested in care that is smart enough where patients can be managed from a distance but also allows patients to manage themselves. I think that trend toward self-management, like diabetes, for example, or hypertension, where patients are able to self-manage themselves at home, certainly is the future of how care needs to be and will be delivered. That's the only way healthcare will be sustainable in the long term.