Moving Beyond COVID-19: Key Takeaways for the Healthcare Industry

2020 was a year no one could have predicted. Once COVID-19 arrived in the U.S., many soon realized life as we knew it wouldn’t be the same for a long time. The healthcare industry bore a large brunt of the pandemic’s impact because healthcare workers were on the front lines and faced unprecedented demands. Looking toward the future, here are key takeaways for the healthcare industry as it moves forward beyond COVID-19.

Planning for Continuity

One of the most significant problems associated with the pandemic was the difficulty to accommodate the sick and protect healthcare workers, while maintaining regular operations. For instance, in May 2020, a survey found 87% of nurses reported having to reuse single-use disposable masks. Furthermore, 27% said were exposed to confirmed COVID-19 cases without having access to proper PPE.

Going forward, the industry will need to rethink traditional ways to prevent the disruption of healthcare continuity. Initiatives include investing with suppliers so PPE, ventilators, and other key provisions are readily accessible domestically and shortages are avoided. Operational plans will likely be more frequently revisited to ensure staff and patients are accommodated safely with the least possible disruption.

Communication is Key

One of the lessons learned by providers across the board throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is that communication is key. For instance, visits to certain medical providers, such as dentists and chiropractors, were less frequent, due to their ability to be more easily delayed. Those that were sick, or who relied on a certain medication prescribed through their doctor, were going to continue to go into those providers, while putting a pause on visits that could wait. Doctors and physicians were deemed as "more prepared" to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, when in reality, that is not the case. Dental offices saw success with sending out video communication to their patients, with messages about their sanitation protocols that emphasized that they were adequately prepared to deal with COVID-19 concerns just as well as doctors’ offices could. Going forward, keeping up communication is going to be vital for medical providers.   

Using Big Data

Big data has been steadily growing in importance across several sectors, but the pandemic shed light on many valuable ways it can be better utilized by the healthcare industry to improve supply chain management and patient care.

• Centralize forecast data and align with patient healthcare and capacity levels
• Increase transparency in supply chain visibility to ensure timely production and delivery
• Collaborate to determine what is needed to provide specific patient needs

Data is a powerful asset, and healthcare has learned is it can be used strategically to ensure supply chain and patient care are optimized. Collected data can be leveraged so providers have all the information they need to allocate resources, along with a stronger ability to make timely and efficient decisions.

Value of the Virtual Environment

One lesson many industries learned is the virtual environment is a valuable opportunity from both an efficient and cost-effective perspective. Many facilities learned they could:

• Operate with non-frontline employees working from home while still maintaining productivity.
• Offer online tools for booking appointments and communicating with patients.
• Provide quality telemedicine to patients during the period of time in-person appointments were restricted or impossible to accommodate.
• Use technology to provide better care for underserved communities.

Another lesson learned was more patients were willing to accept virtual care and many even will likely prefer it in the future under certain conditions. The AMA is in agreement with a bipartisan bill, the Telehealth Modernization Act, currently in front of Congress. Going forward, many facilities will continue to leverage digitization when appropriate and provide a higher level of healthcare accessibility and timely delivery of care.

Making Decisions About Governance

Many in the healthcare industry had to quickly pivot if they wanted to provide quality care while operating with appropriate governance while simultaneously adhering to compliance. Key stakeholders had to learn how to collaborate and make important decisions under a “new normal.” Going forward, facilities are learning how to keep the lines of communication open to ensure high-priority and other planning have continuity.

Technology had previously been steadily integrated into healthcare, however, looking towards the future it’s going to play a much larger role to ensure accessibility, efficiency, and productivity levels remain strong in the most cost-effective manner possible.