As we kick off 2024, we wanted to start the new year with a series of 2024 Health IT predictions. We asked the Healthcare IT Today community to submit their predictions and we received a wide ranging set of responses that we grouped into a number of themes. In fact, we got so many that we had to narrow them down to just the best and most interesting. Check out our community’s predictions below and be sure to add your own thoughts and/or places you disagree with these predictions in the comments and on social media.
All of this year’s 2024 health IT predictions (updated as they’re shared):
- John and Colin’s 2024 Healthcare IT Predictions
- Health Equity Predictions
- Healthcare Cybersecurity Predictions
- Telehealth and VR Predictions
- Value Based Care Predictions
- Pharma IT and AI Predictions
- Healthcare Interoperability, Data, and Cloud Predictions
- Healthcare Workforce Predictions
- Healthcare Generative AI and Data Predictions
- Healthcare AI Regulations and Ethics Predictions
- Cautionary Views of AI
- Patient Preditions
- Uses of AI in Healthcare Predictions
- General Health IT Predictions
- Health IT Predictions (on video)
- Healthcare AI Predictions
And now, check out our community’s Health Equity predictions.
Alice Wei, Officer of the Chief Medical Office at Strive Health
2024 is the year to advance health equity – In 2023, important progress was made in recognizing and addressing health equity, particularly through increased dialogue within the medical community about social drivers of health. As we move into 2024, there is a compelling opportunity for healthcare leaders to deepen their commitment to health equity initiatives.
Technological advancements, such as generative AI, and newer regulatory guidelines such as the CMS Framework for Health Equity mark a transformative era for healthcare stakeholders to redefine the role of technology in data management to advance health equity. With greater data standardization, benchmarks can be created and we can hold ourselves accountable across the kidney care landscape. Generative AI is a powerful tool to help better predict trends in health outcomes of specific patient populations and simulate interventions before deployment for efficacy in the context of complex social drivers of health with multimorbid conditions. There is much to look forward to in the coming year as we help shape the healthcare environment towards a more equitable future.
Timi Leslie, President and Founder at BluePath Health and Connecting for Better Health
2024 will mark a turning point in health care due to the essential work being done at the national and state levels to make safe, responsible health and social service data sharing the standard. Health IT solutions that embrace their role as a connector and contributor to bring together patients, counties, and public, private, and nonprofit organizations in health care and social services will be best aligned with the future. In an increasingly connected world, it’s past time solutions center people and providers to ease their access to relevant and meaningful information.
Shruti Kothari, Director of Industry Initiatives at Blue Shield of California
Health equity has progressed, but healthcare leaders should further challenge themselves in 2024: it’s time to use technology to be even more inclusive and responsive, particularly as it applies to intersectionality. Who stands for children of color with a recognized disability that live in rural areas? How are we accommodating the healthcare needs of members of the LGBTQ+ community that don’t speak English as their first language? In a world in which we have access to more information than ever before, it’s time to push the boundaries of tech-enabled healthcare to also be collecting, sharing and applying critical information to solutions for these unique, overlooked populations and communities.
Chris Bove, Chief Executive Officer at CleanSlate Centers
“Health equity” will take on a new meaning in 2024, fueling the shift to a more inclusive approach to treating substance use disorders. I predict that the rising trends in alcohol- and opioid-related deaths in the U.S. will intensify efforts to address employment, housing instability, incarceration, and other societal factors that greatly impact treatment success. Consider, for example, that people who are unemployed are 14 times less likely than those with full-time employment to receive medications for opioid use disorder. As CEO of a national opioid and alcohol addiction outpatient treatment center, I believe this holistic approach will enhance the overall quality of care and contribute to more equitable healthcare for those struggling with substance use disorders.
Paula LeClair, MBA, MHCDS, US General Manager at Healthy.io
America’s health equity gap, exacerbated by a worsening chronic conditions crisis, will continue to widen if we do not focus on improving access for underserved, at-risk populations and increasing adherence to critical preventative tests. The first step is recognizing the barriers patients face to testing.
Leveraging innovation and technology can build access to screening and at-home testing solutions to finally enable health systems to reach their large-scale populations who are at increased risk. Testing is essential and in 2024 we will see much more emphasis from stakeholders on the transfer of data back to the care systems to ensure follow-up is initiated. That’s especially true for rural and underserved populations, where getting data back to a physician is especially important to ensure they stay engaged in their healthcare. If we do not focus on reaching people where they are, America’s chronic conditions crisis will become untenable.
Dan McDonald, CEO at 86Borders
The outcomes of our work with Medicaid, D-SNP, and other vulnerable patient populations clearly indicate the need for greater industry focus on closing health equity gaps in 2024. With every project, our company’s technology and member engagement teams uncover stark disparities in healthcare delivery and community wellness nationwide.
The 2024 mandate for all healthcare organizations (HCOs) is clear. We must work collaboratively to improve the health of every member within the communities we serve. To achieve this goal, I predict a steady increase in the volume of new HCO initiatives. The industry will see an explosion in the volume of new partnerships and programs to address food insecurity, housing status, senior isolation, behavioral issues, and other SDOH factors.
However, it is essential to acknowledge that investments in these programs are expenditures, not sources of revenue. Healthcare leaders at payer and provider organizations must shift mindsets to fully recognize the value of proactive engagement in these endeavors. The long-term upsides of improving health equity outweigh the short-term costs every time.
Finally, our interactions with these patients and health plan members suggest HCOs must get back to the basics of human connection. Trust should be built before health equity interventions begin. Empathy, compassion, personalized engagement, and flexibility are foundational pillars for successfully engaging each individual and collectively addressing our industry’s health equity challenges.
Ali Modaressi, CEO at Los Angeles Network for Enhanced Services (LANES)
Healthcare in 2024 will be defined by data advancements at the intersection of digital health, FHIR-based data exchange and artificial intelligence (AI). With the help of these driving forces, we predict accelerated efforts to improve health care and social service coordination locally and nationally, creating measurable change for patients and their families especially in vulnerable communities.
Elisa Harris, Partner at Barnes & Thornburg
Looking ahead to 2024, the combination of steady adoption of value-based care and the health equity focus by the healthcare industry and governmental payers will continue to accelerate business models using targeted care management, increased health education and access to health resources across various populations. Demographic groups previously unattractive in a fee-for-service environment will receive increased attention from providers seeking to focus on complex conditions and social determinants in order to maximize positive outcomes (both quality and savings). Increased experience with payment mechanisms taking full financial risk will reward coordinated care and drive a more holistic treatment approach addressing social determinates of health including stable housing, access to nutritious food, and transportation.
In addition, technology will allow historically underserved populations increased access to care. Advancements in telemedicine and digital health platforms are anticipated to play a role in reducing health disparities. Cellphone applications and AI tools can reach the patient who might not otherwise be able or willing to access brick and mortar facilities. Innovative technology assists to fill gaps in care, maintain records of services received, and provide health education in an accessible medium. Technology coupled with value-based care that addresses the whole person will be a powerful theme in the coming year.
Colby Takeda, Co-Founder & CEO at Pear Suite
Technology’s ability to empower community health workers (CHWs) to support their work will continue to advance. Beyond simply collecting social needs data and managing workflows, technology will be able to up-skill and empower CHWs to work across the healthcare ecosystem, collaborating with healthcare partners and through data sharing, ancillary support, and care coordination. These advances will also make it easier for community-based providers to engage in the healthcare ecosystem, becoming cost-effective, trusted, and skilled workers that are embraced by other healthcare partners.
Dr. Mitesh Rao, Founder and CEO at OMNY Health
In 2024, healthcare leaders must prioritize constructing a robust real-world data infrastructure. It’s crucial to guarantee fair data access, foster diversity in clinical research, and propel healthcare innovation that serves all patients. This means investing in data partnerships that break down barriers and empower democratic participation in medical research, ultimately leading to more effective and inclusive treatments.
Allison Combs, Head of Product – Payer Segment, Clinical Effectiveness at Wolters Kluwer Health
CMS ties dollars to DEI and outcomes
This coming year will put an expanded focus on DEI by healthcare payers not just because it is the right thing to do, it’s also now about the bottom line. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) framework for health equity will put a financial focus on value-based care and ensuring that the gap in inequities is identified and closed. We predict that payers will be looking at solutions that support diversity while also offering ways to enhance patient engagement and meet people where they are to support them appropriately.
Be sure to check out all of Healthcare IT Today’s Health Equity content and all of our other 2024 healthcare IT predictions.
