Healthcare Trends in 2022

During the course of 2022, the healthcare industry experienced its fair share of highs and lows. Our response to the global pandemic began to evolve as healthcare companies began to recover, seeking to meet the needs of their patients. After a period of stringent pandemic lockdowns, many people experienced a relaxation in Covid-19 regulations, allowing for more socialization and involvement with our communities. Here, we take a look back at some of the most significant trends and noteworthy headlines throughout the year.

Healthcare Investment

Investments around the world, and notably healthcare, began to decline, likely due to cost increases, a weak economy, and a desire among investors to save cash. Compared to the same time last year, drastically reduced healthcare investments imply investors are uncertain of what the future will bring. Nevertheless, there is hope for the healthcare industry as leading industry figures are still conscious of the problems in the field and are eager to tackle these issues when economic conditions improve.

Staffing Shortages

Healthcare faced some of its most troubling challenges in regard to staffing shortages throughout 2022. For a long time, it has been well-known that there is a large deficit in the number of physicians nationally, resulting in long wait times for appointments which limits patients’ access to care. In addition, the number of nurses needed to meet the demands were not being met, which prevented the effective and timely throughput of patients. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that 194,500 registered nursing positions will open up in the next decade, with a job growth rate of approximately 9% every year. Ultimately, these staffing shortages are still quite prevalent and have yet to be resolved.

Healthcare Technology

In recent years, the healthcare sector has experienced rapid growth in technological advancement as organizations have seen the benefits of digital tools in improving patient care and outcomes. Many tech companies have dedicated resources to tackle problems brought on by the pandemic, such as increasing the use of telemedicine, personalized medicine, genomics, and wearables and adopting AI and IoT technology. However, the economic downturn of 2022 has resulted in a considerable deceleration of healthcare innovation and investment. Still, industry leaders are mindful of the healthcare field’s pressing challenges, and this deceleration is expected to be only a temporary phenomenon as the economy rebounds.

Redefining Care

In 2021, the Covid pandemic gave many people a chance to consider what is most important to them and what they truly value with the ability to redefine the concept of care. Through the development of vaccines, communities were able to reclaim their freedom and re-evaluate their quality of life as the world began to cover from the pandemic. This was especially true for those that were most vulnerable to the virus, including the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions.