Investments in human resources, along with capital investments in technology like a new EMR or AI integration, rank high on the agenda for U.S. healthcare executives in the next two years, according to survey results published by Sage Growth Partners.
Particular HR concerns are staff recruitment and retention, Sage reports.
"Prior to the crises of the last three years, healthcare executives were already struggling to establish a more resilient workforce, and that challenge remains,” says Sage CEO Dan D'Orazio in a news release. “However, we now see an even more immediate need to reduce costs and operating expenses. Combined, this creates a very difficult agenda for the C-Suite."
Workforce resilience was a top challenge for 61% of survey respondents, and it continues to be a major concern—one that was only exacerbated by the pandemic, the report authors note.
The findings also indicated a substantial emphasis on health IT to protect against unfavorable economic headwinds, with 43% of executives planning to increase capital investments in the coming year. This includes 20% looking at a new EMR, 15% investing in AI, and another 13% growing their virtual monitoring capability.
While AI has been shown to offer efficiencies in some cases, it’s not a panacea. “Despite the tremendous hype around AI in 2023, particularly generative AI, the penetration of artificial intelligence in healthcare is broader than it is deep,” the report states.
Nearly half of respondents noted AI integrations have led to improvements in data quality and accessibility, and another 37% touted its impact on data privacy and security, but a comparable proportion (35%) said they haven’t seen any benefit from their forays into AI, while one in five says it creates additional regulatory and legal challenges.
Nearly two-thirds of respondents said their patient population health appears to be deteriorating since pre-pandemic times, and only 5% are confident patients have caught up on delayed care.
The report, titled "The New Healthcare C-Suite Agenda: 2024-2025," is based on a survey of 108 healthcare leaders. It can be downloaded here.
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.