Trends in US Healthcare to Keep an Eye on in 2024
Healthcare doesn’t exist without innovation. The industry is constantly evolving and rightfully so. There is talk of chips in brains and pig heart transplants in 2024, but we’re looking at the more grounded innovations that will make a difference to almost every patient.
New payment models
No mention of the US healthcare system goes by without considering the cost. It’s a contributing factor to people even seeking healthcare and can affect people’s lives in the long run, to say the least.
Unfortunately, that isn’t going away in 2024, but there is likely to be a continued push towards value-based care and payment models that reward quality over quantity. Health systems will continue moving away from traditional fee-for-service models and aim to make healthcare more accessible to the masses.
Additionally, there’s likely to be a focus on other aspects of the social determinants of health. Providers are saying that they are going to keep screening for social needs like food, housing, and transportation, and tailor care plans accordingly.
The rise of telehealth
One way of making healthcare more accessible is with telehealth. Ironic that by the time we start using our phones for doing anything but making phone calls, the healthcare industry starts to embrace it. It’s now the case that if you have a problem, you’re more likely to get a phone call from the doctor rather than an appointment to visit.
This is useful. Telehealth usage exploded during the pandemic and is likely here to stay as a convenient option for patients. It covers general doctors and mental healthcare, allowing people to not take a day off work to simply pick up a prescription or need to physically show up when they have a question about their healthcare, saving time for everyone.
More urgent care clinics
There is also expected to be a rise of retail and urgent care clinics. Retail clinics at pharmacies and grocery stores as well as urgent care centers are handling more routine care as a lower-cost alternative to general practitioners. You can already see care clinics popping up all over the country to aid out people in populous areas and the physician recruiter industry looking for new talent.
More wearables
It’s the digital age and in case you haven’t heard, there’s an app for that. Yes, even your health. Advances in digital health technology like wearables, remote monitoring devices, and AI have aided healthcare in a number of ways. New devices and apps in your smartphone or smartwatch allow patients to better track vitals and facilitate care from afar. Doctors can monitor ideas like heart rate and blood pressure without even entering a patient’s home.
Personalized medicine
Medication is rarely a one-and-done idea. A lot of instances of treating conditions require trial and error. For instance, treating mental health condition means trying out a variety of drugs and trying to get the right balance. This has led to a demand for personalized and precision medicine. With the growth in genetic testing, care can be tailored more specifically to an individual’s genes, biomarkers, and lifestyle.
Mental health
Speaking of mental health, innovations in behavioral health and the idea of treating mental health holistically, as another aspect of overall health like diet and exercise have led to a lot better advancements in healthcare. Apps, online therapy platforms and integrated care models make behavioral health services more accessible, making it a lot more mainstream to the public.
