What Do You See for the Future of Healthcare?

How many of us would love to have a crystal ball to view the future of healthcare?  We know changes are coming.  We have some educated guesses about general forms of some changes.  But we don’t know the specifics or the timing.  And we don’t know how the healthcare sector and the public will react to these changes.  Like others I have talked with in the industry, we are adopting a proactive strategy to prepare for this uncertain future.

We know that healthcare will continue to grow as a segment of our overall economy.  We can reasonably predict that hospital systems will continue to consolidate and improve their business functions and care delivery mechanisms.  Skills associated with change management, lean operations, quality and safety will be needed to lead these transformations.

We know that technology will continue to play an increasing role in health delivery and care optimization.  With increased technology and electronic monitoring, we will have bigger data to analyze than ever before.  Healthcare informatics and analytics, data visualization and electronic medical record systems, and issues of privacy and cyber security will become increasingly important.

We also know that the entrepreneurship and innovation will continue to transform the way we think about health and wellness, treatments and care, and the seamless integration of health services.  How long will it be until a Chief Innovation Officer is a key member of a hospital executive team?

At Eller, we are advancing each of these areas and developing curriculum around healthcare leadership, informatics, and innovation.  We will share these developments as they come to fruition.  Until then, we would love to hear your thoughts.  What do you see in your crystal ball?