U.S. healthcare system continue to evolve, with new technologies and programs designed to make care more accessible for Americans. The goal  for healthcare providers is to help make care more efficient and accessible for as many Americans as possible. In this blog we’re going to explore three trends which are working towards that goal. 1.… The post Healthcare Trends appeared first on Locums, Inc..

U.S. healthcare system continue to evolve, with new technologies and programs designed to make care more accessible for Americans.

The goal  for healthcare providers is to help make care more efficient and accessible for as many Americans as possible. In this blog we’re going to explore three trends which are working towards that goal.

1. Wearable Technology

This industry is currently enjoying a boom, with the expected value of the industry to reach somewhere in the vicinity of $31 billion by the end of 2020.

This is good news for consumers as wearable technology is enabling everyday users to keep track of their health. You can now get devices which track how many steps you take, your heart rate as well as sleep patterns.
There are even reports some companies, like United Healthcare Motion, who include fitness trackers as part of wellness program. What this means for their employees is that some of them can earn up $1,500 per year in incentives—all they have to do is meet specific walking goals each day.
Science & Medicine published a study which showed, on average, people tend to overestimate how much exercise they get by over 50 minutes. And they tend to underestimate sedentary time by over two hours. What this highlights is an importance of a wellness program like United Healthcare Motion’s.

2. Workplace Wellness

This is a trend which should make any employee happy to hear about.
Aside from fitness trackers, some employers are promoting and incentivising good health and wellness. Employers are doing this through gift card, lower health insurance premiums, and even gym membership discounts.

It’s estimated 70% of American employers are already doing these workplace wellness initiatives. As good as this sounds, with some employees able to earn up $693 in incentives, fewer than half of eligible employees choose to earn the full incentive, leaving millions in unclaimed rewards.

3. Value-Based Care

Again, this is another trend employee should be happy to hear about. A value-based care arrangement is when the health care providers that employees use are paid for the results they achieve (the quality of the outcome as well demonstrating how they have improved someone’s health) instead of getting paid for the number of services they provide patients.

Put simply: it’s about value rather than volume.

An article in the Harvard Business Review wrote about value-based care, calling it “The strategy that will fix health care.” The article finishes by saying that in the future this will be the only way healthcare is carried out because of greater transparency and falling reimbursement levels.

These are just three of the trends we’ll seeing growing over the coming years. As technology improves, information becomes more easily accessible, and the competitive nature of providing patients with the best care continues, the healthcare industry will continue to have an exciting future. One aimed at providing patients with the best care and service.

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