A Pivotal Juncture

Written by Carladenise Edwards, Ph.D.

The healthcare industry has been faced with many challenges over the past several years. COVID-19 turned our world upside down. The next several years will require our healthcare leaders to establish aligned priorities if we want to improve the health of our nation while lowering cost and improving quality.

The first priority for our nation is firmly establishing a sustainable public health system that protects our citizens from infectious disease, bioterrorism, and the like. These are real threats that require true investment in the development of a solid infrastructure. Secondly, our hospital-based health system must continue improving operations so that the cost of care can be lowered and access to care exponentially increased. The poor health status of our nation has moral and financial consequences. If we can’t fix the broken parts of the existing sick-care system, I propose building a competing system focused on advancing health.

Current healthcare executives are plagued with a plethora of issues, but if we were forced to pick only one to tackle first, workforce issues would win the day. Ensuring that the people who serve our patients are well supported and resourced is essential.

Leaders should ask themselves and their teams the following questions on a regular basis:

• Are we treating our employees well?
• Are our wages and benefits competitive?
• Is the work environment for frontline and administrative staff healthy and strong?
• Do we have progressive training programs and strong succession plans that inspire individuals to be their best selves and enable our teams to do their best work?

Without a healthy and productive workforce, the entire organization suffers. Healthcare leaders should focus on playing the long game. The disruptive forces that are creating financial pressure are only going to get stronger as the demand for care in a diminished supply environment continues to increase.

Traditional healthcare providers and payers should focus on how to be the best in class and/or strategically partner with non-traditional health entities that are focused on advancing health. Non-traditional entities—such as retail, fintech, and digital transformation companies that are entering the ecosystem—should focus on affordability, consumer-centric products and services. Both traditional and non-traditional providers need to focus on smart growth by building partnerships that create an omni-channel experience for purchasers. Non-traditional entities should look at hospital and health systems not as customers but as competitors if they are truly going to drive change.

The next several years are pivotal if we are going to address the many challenges our healthcare system faces. The urgency our industry is experiencing requires leaders to focus on economics, operations, technology, and innovation while not losing sight of clinical quality and desired health outcomes. Strong, consensus-driven leadership is needed now more than ever. Competing entities need to collaborate and the disruptors should converge to create a seamless experience for the community. The economic pressure the industry is facing is greater than it has ever been. As an industry we must prioritize and focus. Our problems are better solved in collaboration and partnership. But, if need be, a little competition won’t hurt.

For comment or reaction, please write: Dr. Edwards on LinkedIn or [email protected].