Emerging Healthcare Trends of 2024
"I can't change the direction of the wind. But I can adjust my sails..." -Jimmy Dean
They say “Fortune favors the prepared mind.” Keeping that in mind, let’s take a look at five growing healthcare trends to keep an eye on in 2024:
5. AI integration into medicine
AI is increasingly being integrated into daily medical workflows in ways that are largely beneficial for both patient and provider. The best example is the rise of AI medical scribing software. I get weekly texts from friends and colleagues who’ve tried FreedAI, Scribeberry, or Nabla for the first time. Each person describes these tools as gamechangers, in a positive way. For most providers, one of the least glamorous, most time-consuming aspects of medicine is daily charting. Automated medical scribing software like FreedAI and Scribeberry take most of this burden away.
While some providers have raised patient privacy concerns, overall these AI tools seem to be practicable, affordable ways for clinicians to spend less computer facing time and more patient facing time. Big win.
4. The Rise of Mid-Level Providers
There is a growing scarcity of physicians. According to data from the Association of American Medical Colleges, the United States will face a physician shortage of up to 86,000 by 2036. Trying to address this growing gap, U.S medical schools have increased annual class enrollments by up to 40% since 2002. Regardless of growing class sizes, physician education remains a very long, slow, costly process. And that is not going to change. Currently, more than 83 million Americans live in areas where access to a physician is scarce or impossible.
To fill this provider vacuum, mid-level providers including Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants are assuming more prominent roles in the healthcare provider ecosystem. Many large healthcare organizations are increasingly hiring mid-level providers instead of physicians; there are simply more to choose from, and they are less costly employees.
Some physicians (and state medical boards) feel threatened by mid-level providers. They cite inadequate training and patient safety concerns. But the reality is that these hardworking providers fill a very critical and very real healthcare gap. My thoughts go to those 83 million Americans. My hope is that we can work with (not against) mid-level providers to support them in providing safe and effective healthcare: healthcare that will otherwise never get to those who need it most.
3. The Explosion of Telehealth and in home care
COVID-19 forced the American healthcare system to turn virtual overnight. The pandemic is over, but the genie is out of the bottle. And there is no turning back. While in-person healthcare for some conditions remains necessary, telehealth medicine, telehealth companies, and in home healthcare continue to remain popular with consumers. The average American can now get everything from mental health therapy and minor medical check-ins to dating and notary services all online.
When it comes to in home healthcare services, the aging U.S population is a key driver of increasing demand. Americans over 65 will account for over 20% of the US population by 2050- a 50% increase from 2012! Accordingly, employment in home healthcare is expected to rise by 8% each year through the mid 2030s. The growing popularity of home-based services is not limited to healthcare alone. You can now get haircuts, highlights, and even Botox from the comfort of your home.
2. Focus on Preventative Health and Value Based Care
When the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2014, it allowed for providers to be reimbursed for previously un-billable preventative care services such as tobacco cessation counseling, depression and anxiety screening, alcohol screening, nutrition counseling, and early cancer screening. This was monumental. Providers began integrating many of these routine screening questionnaires and conversations into their regular patient intake workflows for the first time.
Value Based Care (VBC) arrangements, which compensate providers for defined patient health outcomes, is a natural extension of preventative care that is growing in popularity. Although the actual payment mechanisms around VBCs are more complex than fee-for-service agreements, it is really the best approach to patient care. And it’s the future of medicine. When providers and payors are both financially aligned to patient outcomes, emphasis is placed on preventative services that keep folks from getting sick in the first place. Aligning provider incentives to patient outcomes is a common sense, effective approach we will see more of in the future. Another win.
1.The Dominance of GLP-1 Drugs
The growing popularity of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) drugs is making a huge impact in healthcare. These medications reduce appetite, food cravings, and alcohol/drug cravings by mimicking the “I’m full” hormone known as glucagon that is secreted by the pancreas. They also work by slowing down the digestion process. With current prescribing rates, by 2030 there will be more prescriptions written for GLP-1 drugs than there are written for birth control or Prozac. Novo Nordisk is the Danish company behind two of these most popular medications- Ozempic and Wegovy. In the past few months, Novo Nordisk’s market value has skyrocketed; it is now worth more than the entire economy of Denmark.
As an Addiction Psychiatrist, I am particularly excited about the potential these medications hold for addiction treatment. While preliminary studies are still underway, early research being conducted by the NIH out of Baltimore, Maryland suggests that the semaglutides not only reduce food cravings, but also significantly reduce drug and alcohol cravings. The semaglutides are already being used “off-label” by some physicians to treat both obesity and addiction, with very promising results. The more tools we have to fight addiction, the better.
While the skyrocketing cost of GLP-1s remain out of financial reach for most Americans, the prices will drop as more options in this category come out and generics are eventually made.
These are some of the biggest healthcare trends I’m watching in 2024. But there are many more. What is catching your attention most?
-Lauren