ESO Identifies Key Hospital Trends to Watch in 2022

Focus will be on staffing challenges, emerging technology, training and education, as well as financial hurdles

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ESO, the leading data and software company serving emergency medical services (EMS), fire departments, hospitals, state and federal agencies, today shared the trends it predicts will have the biggest impact on EMS agencies in 2022: hospitals will continue to face staffing challenges; emerging technologies will change how hospitals engage with patients; training and education will be key to better patient care; and financial hurdles will require creative thinking.

“Hospitals are feeling pressure from multiple angles this year,” said Dr. Brent Myers, Chief Medical Officer for ESO. “Staffing shortages are currently the new normal for hospitals of all sizes and locations, which means technology will play a major role for both patients and providers. Both training and thoughtful financial planning will be essential to address gaps and mitigate challenges hospitals will face this year.”

Key Hospital Predictions for 2022:

• Hospitals will continue to face staffing challenges:
  The Great Resignation, as it’s known, is affecting companies and organizations across the United States – no industry is immune. This holds true for hospitals as well. According to a recent article in The Atlantic, nearly 20% of healthcare workers have left their job since the pandemic started. Many healthcare workers are looking for new opportunities that are less stressful, promise better hours, and, oftentimes, offer better pay. In particular, many technology companies are exploring new and innovative ways to deliver healthcare services and are luring healthcare workers with domain expertise that can work remotely and reduce burnout.

• Technology will continue to change the healthcare landscape:
  COVID-19 turned the world upside down in many ways. Organizations, including hospitals, discovered new and creative ways to leverage technology (or create technology) to continue moving forward. In healthcare, telemedicine’s future became now. People turned to wearable technology (such as Apple Watch) to monitor vital statistics and other health-related activities. Individuals gained even greater access to clinical data via third-party applications. While use of technology was intended as a temporary solution to many of the challenges imposed by COVID-19, a number of these technologies are now a permanent fixture. This will impact how hospitals engage with patients, field questions from patients, and help navigate the patient journey. Additionally, technology will expose disparities in care across socioeconomic lines.

• Training and education will be more essential than ever:
  With the loss of talent and need to staff and onboard new workers, training will be absolutely essential to ensure better patient care. Hospitals will need to consider ongoing and improved training across the entire spectrum, including nursing, EMS, laboratory personnel, radiology, etc., to minimize operational downtime and maintain quality of care. Additionally, nursing schools will need to ensure nurses are being placed in the field versus simply being recycled in the education ecosystem.

• Successfully navigating financial hurdles will be key:
  Budgets and finances are always topics of discussion for hospitals. COVID-19 brought these topics into even sharper focus as many patients refused transport to the hospital or chose alternate destinations. Additionally, the inability to perform elective procedures stretched many hospitals very thin financially. Moreover, due to staffing shortages, new hires can and will request higher salaries and greater benefits. Planning and efficiency will be essential for hospitals and hospital systems to ensure dollars are being spent in the best possible way to improve patient care.

Download the 2022 Hospital Predictions whitepaper here.

About ESO

ESO (ESO Solutions, Inc.) is dedicated to improving community health and safety through the power of data. Since its founding in 2004, the company continues to pioneer innovative, user-friendly software to meet the changing needs of today’s EMS agencies, fire departments, hospitals, state EMS offices, and federal agencies. ESO currently serves thousands of customers throughout North America with a broad software portfolio, including the industry-leading ESO Electronic Health Record (EHR), the next generation ePCR; ESO Health Data Exchange (HDE), the first-of-its-kind healthcare interoperability platform; ESO Fire RMS, the modern fire Record Management System; ESO Patient Registry (trauma, burn and stroke registry software); and ESO State Repository. ESO is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit www.eso.com.