After hospital closures, financial threats, major mergers and changing care models in 2017, healthcare leaders will be watching several key trends this year — from patient care innovations to policy changes, according to a Health Affairs blog post.
Here are six healthcare trends to watch in 2018, according to Health Affairs.
1. As the number of insured Americans remains steady and may increase over the coming months, healthcare leaders may view 2018 as a year of greater insurance market stability.
2. The designs of CMS pay for performance and alternative payment models have caused hospital margins to remain in the low single digits. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission projects the Medicare margin will fall to negative 11 percent in 2018.
3. Recent provider-payer mergers, from CVS and Aetna to Ascension Health and Providence Health, indicate insurers, physician groups, health systems, and retail organizations will continue to compete as high-value care and financing networks this year.
4. Healthcare leaders will work to focus on patient engagment in 2018, and more providers will establish patient portals, supply wearable devices and launch educational programs with materials tailored to patients' needs.
5. The FDA will continue to launch new initiatives to increase drugmaker competition and moderate drug price trends.
6. Healthcare leaders will see a growing demand for a trained workforce that can deploy, implement and maintain health information technologies and systems for increasingly complex medical devices.