A New Year - A New Healthcare Era?

2017 arrived in the blink of an eye. The world is waiting for what will transpire in the year(s) ahead under new political leadership. Will Obamacare be repealed? What role will insurance companies play in healthcare reform? What added mandates or perhaps reduced reforms will occur in medical practices and among providers?

Here’s what we know. More than 767,000 doctors practice in the U.S. The U.S. will face a shortage of up to 90,000 phyiscians by 2025 – and that shortage is not just in family practice, but will span into specialty and surgical practices as well (Washington Post, March 2015).

Eighty percent of providers describe themselves as overextended. And yet, the political climate has continued to ask more of them. More accountability. More services. More Medicare patients. More flexibility. Extended hours. Expanded services. Healthier patients. Healthier communities.

Looking to the future, it appears one constant will remain -- conversation about improved patient health outcomes. Proactive healthcare, screenings, regular check-ups, referrals to specialists for procedures and tests. All in an effort to be healthier, and in the long-run reduce the rising costs of healthcare.

But doctors and practices have shown that they cannot take on the these challenges alone. They need to search for outside resources to help reach patients, to educate them to get them to take a more proactive approach to their health. And it doesn’t matter the specialty, size of the practice, demographics, geography and the like -- the need is the same -- how to communicate better with patietnts.

This year we will focus on how communications, both the printed and digital word cannot only make patients healthier, and in some instances even save lives, but also helps practices achieve improved financial health as a result.  

Learn more about how POS is helping practices and specialties throughout the U.S. navigate these challenging times and strive toward a healthier nation.