Health Care Moving into 2023

Days keep passing, and health care keeps evolving. As 2022 wraps, we’re reviewing what major changes and trends impacted Americans and what we are expecting in 2023. Workforce and organization leaders must keep up with the latest trends within health care to keep their support for their populations effective and competitive.

Three Top Healthcare Changes in 2022

Shortages in Providers

About 10% of providers stopped practicing in 2022, and we saw a significant net reduction in the workforce because of this.¹ The numbers might not look striking, but its impact has been. People have reported extremely long wait times for appointments, inability to find clinicians taking appointments, and a big hit to people’s pocketbooks as they scramble to find care. Over 27 million American adults are currently going untreated for a mental illness or other mental health issue. 54% of these adults have insurance coverage but are still not receiving care.²

Poor American Wellbeing

Economic crisis and financial stress, social isolation, war, discrimination and social unrest, mass shootings, political extremism—big events have had a detrimental impact on American health overall. Anxiety is up. Depression is high. Stress is at very unhealthy levels. Key health KPIs including mortality rate, preventable deaths, and suicide rates are still very high for Americans.

Calls for Structural Mental Health Support

In large part because of poor health stats, we have seen a few substantial structural reports come out in 2022 that are shining a light on mental health and wellbeing needs. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a large and comprehensive review, and it was dire—emphasizing that mental health has been “one of the most overlooked areas of public health, receiving a tiny part of the attention and resources it needs and deserves.”³ WHO emphasized the need to reshape environments including communities, schools, and workplaces for structural mental health changes.³

Looking Forward in 2023

DEI and Personalized Healthcare

As organizations become more aware of the multitude of ways a person’s diverse backgrounds and group identity impacts their needs, expectations, and wellbeing, they are leaning into their commitment to improving DEI in the workplace. Some organizations have adopted diversity initiatives, but many still struggle to see true results. It’s become clear that historical DEI efforts that have prioritized diversity have not been enough, and more work on systemic barriers to fair treatment is needed. 2023 will see more strategic attention to inclusion and equity, and there will be significantly more focus on culturally-sensitive care.

Continuing Impact of a Post-Roe America

The Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe vs. Wade limits access to critical health care across the country. And studies have shown that people denied abortions experience worse mental health and wellbeing outcomes.⁴ We have done a deep dive into the impact of Roe v. Wade with comprehensive information and materials, and we expect to continue reviewing and analyzing the impact well into 2023 and beyond.

Workplace and Organizational Duty

The U.S. Surgeon General came out in 2022 with a New Framework for Mental Health & Well-Being in the Workplace. This comprehensive analysis and guide emphasizes key needed workplaces initiatives to reduce stress and the related health impacts caused by them.⁵ Any leader interested in strategic initiatives should take this framework to heart and implement at least a few—if not all—of the recommendations within.

In addition, the trend to continue expanding and modifying employee benefits will continue throughout 2023. These shifts will include adding health screenings, health coaching, teletherapy, and more digital tools. People will also continue to be more vocal about the need for comprehensive benefits AND use them to determine job changes.

Digital Expansion Still Hits Hard in Health

Tele-everything might be the name of the game in 2023. While remote health care has been growing for several years, it increased dramatically because of the pandemic. This is now a must have for health care because many patients and providers have realized that remote care can be provided in an efficient and cost-effective way. Virtual appointments are easier for a lot of people to manage, remote monitoring improves chronic condition management for many conditions, and a familiar environment has been shown to have a positive impact on patient outcomes.⁶

Continued Growth at Uprise Health

As health care evolves and member needs change, Uprise Health keeps expanding to better serve our members and their rising needs. Within 2022 and continuing into 2023, our big priorities are:

1. 1. Expanding care options with care navigation, behavioral health coaching, and proactive outreach.
   2. Providing better digital tools with big changes occurring in our member access points and our own internal service support.
   3. Responding to mental healthcare clinician shortages with strategic operational changes. This hit us hard at the beginning of the year, and our operations team has been working diligently to ensure our members get quick and effective care.
   4. Delivering more member communication to improve engagement, help our clients support their employees and members more foundationally, and keep everyone in the loop on service processes.

To learn more about how Uprise Health makes a difference in population health, contact us today about population health, EAP, chronic care management, and managed behavioral health.

References

1. 1. 1. https://www.trillianthealth.com/insights/reports/2022-health-economy-trends
      2. https://mississippitoday.org/2022/05/28/data-dive-mental-health-report/
      3. https://www.who.int/news/item/17-06-2022-who-highlights-urgent-need-to-transform-mental-health-and-mental-health-care
      4. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/fullarticle/2592320
      5. https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/workplace-well-being/index.html
      6. https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2022/12/06/the-top-5-healthcare-trends-in-2023/