2024年医疗保健行业趋势值得关注

近年来，医疗保健行业一直处于一个充满波动的环境中. 市场需求的变化, 供应链问题和医疗通胀问题带来了许多关键挑战.

2024年，其他几个趋势可能会影响医疗保健行业. These include labor shortages propelled by demographic shifts and changing skills requirements; technological advancements that will continue to progress, bringing both advantages and risks; and the risk of workplace violence, which is a significant challenge for health care organizations and requires robust risk mitigation strategies. 此外，非传统并购(M&A)在这个领域变得越来越普遍, adding another layer of complexity and requiring careful scrutiny and adaptation of risk management frameworks.

考虑到这些不断变化的动态, organizations should closely monitor these developments in order to adjust their operations and risk management practices as needed. This article provides more information on health care industry trends to watch and offers suggestions on how to navigate them.

劳动力短缺

The health care industry faces a labor shortage driven by factors such as an aging population and health care workforce, 技能短缺和员工倦怠导致的人员流失. In fact, professional services provider Deloitte reports that 57% of health system executives expect labor shortages and workforce challenges to impact their organization’s 2024 strategy. 

劳动力短缺可能对医疗保健行业产生深远的影响. They can heighten organizations’ employee injury rates and associated workers’ compensation exposures, as having fewer workers may lead to these organizations lengthening their existing employees’ shifts and job responsibilities, 使他们更有可能经历过度劳累或重复性运动损伤. 此外, 劳动力短缺会增加医疗机构的职业责任风险. 例如, 过度劳累和精神疲劳的员工可能会变得不那么警觉，也无法集中精力完成工作任务, 使它们更容易出错. 在医学领域, 这些错误可能导致错误的诊断或无效的治疗方法和护理, 因此威胁到患者的安全. In turn, these patients or the family members of those who receive improper care due to treatment errors or omissions could take legal action against the health care organization, 要求其对由此造成的损害负责.

有了这些风险, 医疗保健组织应该投资于解决这些劳动力挑战的措施. 策略 

考虑可能包括提供更有竞争力的工资和福利待遇.g., 学费报销方案, flexible work arrangements and additional paid time off); implementing employee assistance programs and other staff well-being and mental health initiatives; offering additional training and opportunities for upskilling; and promoting a positive, safe working culture that empowers employees to voice their concerns regarding job hazards and other work-related incidents.

除了优先考虑吸引和留住员工的策略, health care organizations may also wish to utilize technology to increase operational efficiencies and improve safety, 哪些可以帮助减轻劳工担忧.

技术进步

数字健康领域的技术进步继续改变着医疗保健行业. 移动健康, 卫生信息技术, 可穿戴设备, 远程医疗, 个性化医疗和人工智能(AI)都对该行业产生了影响.

近年来，数字健康的一个显著增长的方面是远程医疗. 远程医疗, 或远程医疗, 指通过数字通信的方式为医疗和服务提供便利, 比如短信和视频通话. 远程医疗可以为患者和卫生保健组织带来好处. 例如, patients can utilize 远程医疗 to receive timely and simplified access to treatment for a variety of injuries and illnesses, 以及避免在获得面对面服务时可能出现的潜在问题(例如.g., 接触病人, 在门诊时间安排上遇到麻烦, 寻找专门治疗的困难和前往医疗机构的挑战). In addition, 卫生保健组织可以实施远程医疗，以帮助接触更多的患者, 提高运营效率, 应对不断上涨的医疗费用, 扩大诊断和筛查选项, 提高慢性病管理能力. 

 AI has also become more heavily utilized throughout the health care industry through tools like customer service chatbots, 虚拟护理助理, 早期诊断和成像技术, 以及数据存储和处理设备. Market research and consulting company Grand View Research has reported that the global AI in health care market size was estimated to be about $22.2023年将达到50亿美元. Such technology has emerged as a way to help health care organizations customize patients’ treatment plans and automate certain tasks by analyzing medical records, detecting potential patterns and highlighting opportunities for enhanced health outcomes at rapid rates.

一些医疗机构也开始利用可穿戴安全技术. 这些电子设备可用于评估患者的生命体征(如.g., heart rate, 体温和血压), 跟踪他们的活动水平，管理他们可能患有的任何慢性疾病. 通过使用可穿戴安全技术, medical professionals can monitor patients in various settings and empower them to be more accountable for their own health while minimizing employees’ workloads and lowering operational costs.

尽管有这些好处, 技术进步仍然会给医疗保健组织带来重大风险. 他们可能会引起网络安全方面的担忧, 特别是因为患者数据是网络罪犯的一个有吸引力的目标. 更复杂的情况, 法规在不断变化, 给医疗保健组织留下了大量的遵从性考虑. 此外，技术不能取代面对面的护理，并可能导致错误或失误. 考虑以下技术带来的风险:

• 虚拟访问不允许医疗专业人员进行身体检查, 所以他们可能会错过重要的病人信息, 导致误诊, 延误治疗和相关诉讼.
• 人工智能技术基于人类生成的算法和输入来运行, 这意味着它可能包含错误和偏见. 这些问题可能会增加治疗错误的风险, 误诊和歧视事件, 因此，在患者预后不佳的情况下，为责任问题和相关诉讼打开了大门.
• 可穿戴技术存在故障或提供不准确数据的风险, 使病人容易受伤, 疾病或死亡，如果不及时治疗. 在某些情况下, 医疗保健组织可能对这些错误和相关损害负责. 

为了减少这些风险, 卫生保健组织应该考虑各种策略, 例如实施可靠的网络安全措施(例如.g., 多因素身份验证, 跨虚拟护理平台的网络分段和防病毒工具, 咨询法律顾问，确保遵守适用法律, 要求员工在使用技术时勤奋地记录重要细节, 在提供数字护理时，制定适当的护理标准, 定期测试和检查工具，以确保它们正常运行, 教育和培训员工正确使用技术. 

工作场所暴力

工作场所暴力威胁到保健工作者的健康和安全, 患者和其他第三方. 它可能出现在几种情况下，涉及到外人、病人甚至员工. Workplace violence incidents can have significant impacts on the physical and mental health of involved individuals, 它们还会导致保险成本的增加, 员工不满, 雇主的财务责任和声誉损害.

OSHA将工作场所暴力定义为任何身体暴力的行为或威胁, harassment, 发生在工作场所的恐吓或其他威胁性破坏行为. 根据国家安全委员会的说法, 某些行业, 包括医疗保健行业, 更倾向于暴力. 来自美国的最新数据显示.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicates health care workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than those in other professions.

在医疗保健改善公司Premier进行的一项2023年调查中, 40% of responding health care workers indicated they experienced a workplace violence incident in the previous two years, 在所有报告的事故中，有一半以上是由好斗的病人造成的. The survey also indicated that 60% of those who experienced violence identified as a bedside nurse, and women who responded to the survey indicated that incidents of workplace violence were evenly split between emotional or verbal assaults and physical or sexual abuse.

Employers have a legal and ethical obligation to prevent workplace violence and build a culture of safety. 因此，卫生保健组织应实施全面的预防暴力方案. 管理层的承诺和员工的参与对其成功至关重要. Technology can also play a role; numerous tools can be utilized for this purpose. 

非传统米&A 医疗保健行业的竞争日益激烈, 组织需要适应新的商业模式, 新兴技术和以消费者为导向的医疗服务来保持竞争力. 非传统行业，如私募股权公司, retailers and technology companies have emerged as major health care investors as they look to expand into new markets and find new streams of revenue. These new investors may also appear as attractive partners to health care organizations as they look to expand services, 提高员工与患者的比例，满足客户的需求. 这些因素刺激了几个M&A近年来，和 德勤(Deloitte)报告称，86%的医疗系统高管表示，M&A至少会对他们2024年的战略产生适度的影响.

战略米&A可以为医疗保健行业带来好处. 根据美国医院协会，M&A可以帮助降低卫生保健成本，提高质量并改善获得卫生保健的机会. The emergence of nontraditional health care partners can also introduce desired innovations in technology and security and allow for novel business models.

However, M&A也会给组织带来风险. 投资者希望从他们的收购中获利, 负面影响会出现, 比如裁员, increased medical expenses and less equitable availability of care that can dramatically impact vulnerable populations. It also has the potential to prioritize profit-seeking behavior over individuals’ medical best interests. 此外,米&A可以通过造成业务中断来影响业务操作, 信息技术(IT)集成困难和人员流失增加.

医疗保健组织可以采取措施减轻这些风险. 要考虑的策略包括在进入并购之前进行尽职调查&A, 与受交易影响的员工进行清晰的沟通, 准备信息技术系统和提供新技术教育, 适当培训新员工，确保护理质量不受影响, and enacting policies and procedures to ensure medical decisions are not influenced by profit motives. 卫生保健组织还必须确保M&A遵守所有适用的法规以应对合规风险.   

Conclusion

目前有几个趋势影响着卫生保健部门. 通过保持对这些发展的关注和减少他们的风险敞口, 医疗保健组织可以在2024年保持运营成功.

This 风险的见解 is not intended to be exhaustive nor should any discussion or opinions be construed as legal advice. 读者应联系法律顾问或保险专业人士以获得适当的建议. ©2024 Zywave, Inc. 版权所有.