There are certainly going to be new ways to keep healthcare providers and health IT pros stay engaged and excited, and here are our top 10 picks. For More Information:
Gop Healthcare Bill:
The Republican healthcare reform bill gained immense traction this year. In the third attempt of healthcare bill, the lawmakers have insisted that Americans would not leave their vital protections under their bill, including the guarantee that the plan would protect those with preexisting conditions.  Perhaps sometime in 2018, the GOP may pass a budget setting up reconciliation for tax reform, and then pass tax reform. Then, they would pass a budget setting up reconciliation for Obama care repeal, and then pass that- it all remains to be seen.
Blockchain Based Systems:
Blockchain could arguably be one of the most disruptive technologies in healthcare. It is already being considered as a solution to healthcare’s longstanding challenge of interoperability and data exchange. In 2018 will have a glimpse of by innovation centered on blockchain and how it can enhance healthcare data exchange and ensure security?
Big Data And Analytics Translating Data:
With the help of big data and smart analytics, we are at a point in healthcare we can make a near-certain prediction about possible complications a patient can face, their possible readmission, and the outcomes of a care plan devised for them.
Ongoing Shift To Value From Volume:
Despite speculations, healthcare providers, as well as CMS have pushed for more value-based care and payments tied to quality, but it’s been going slow. Although providers have been slightly resistant to take on risk, they do recognize the potential to contain costs and improve quality of care over value-based contracts. 2018 is expected to be much more impactful as it builds on the strong foundation.
AI And IOT Taking on a Central Role:
2018 can witness a good amount of investment from healthcare leaders in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things. AI and IoT will not only prove instrumental in enhancing accuracy in clinical insights, and security, but could also be fruitful in reducing manual redundancy and ensuring fewer errors as we transition to a world of quality in care.
Future of ACA (Affordable Care Act):
With a new GOP healthcare bill on the cards, some things will stay the same, but with differences- people can still sign up on healthcare government website, but the sign-up period would be shorter. They can still get subsidies to help lower their premiums or reduce their deductibles and copays, but some plans will be much more expensive. The future of ACA is still cloudy, and the attempts to repeal and replace ACA have been laid to rest, for now, but one thing is certain- a lot fewer people will enroll for ACA in 2018, fearing repeal.
Increased Security Importance:
We deal with a tremendous amount of confidential and critical information in healthcare. It’s not just about patient information – from electronic cards to digital footprints. Since the size of the storage device increases, we should focus on data security by avoiding the data stolen being physically harmed. 2018 may be high time we took a good, hard look at the security of our infrastructure.
Stable Healthcare Costs:
Researchers predicts that healthcare sectors grows 6.5% in 2018, which half the growth in 2017. Healthcare seems to be settling into a ‘new normal,’ where the fluctuations are more attuned and the growth rate remains in a single digit, with providers seeking strategies that would improve care management, optimize resource utilization and bring the costs down.
Payer-provider Collaborations:
Over the years, healthcare insurers have been stepping into primary care delivery model, encouraging prevention and wellness. At the same time, we have also witnessed the trend of hospitals and healthcare systems getting into the eligiblity part to take control of the complete patient care process.
Improve Access and Treatment:
Earlier, many suggested Wearable’s are dead. While coming to digital health, those wearable’s plays a vital role in case of innovation. And, market is quickly diversifying as clinical wearable’s gain importance and as several renowned organizations integrates with each other.
