Mending Healthcare in America: New Survey Results
Welcome to our latest healthcare survey results. The survey reveals attitudes of different healthcare professionals, perceived breakdowns and risks in the healthcare system, and preferred actions over the next few years to make it better.
Next-Generation Nurses: Empowered + Engaged
This independent survey took place well before the advent of the global Covid-19 pandemic. It and current day challenges paint a picture that is sobering. The nurse shortage and present day challenges could potentially mean an accelerated loss of expert knowledge, nurses leaving the profession or transitioning to advanced practice, and shifts to a newer workforce of nurses of a different mindset.
The research also examines how next-generation nurses differ from their experienced counterparts (those practicing 10 years or more) in attitudes, beliefs and priorities for the future. The findings serve as a wake-up call for industry as we navigate the rapidly transitioning nurse workforce.
Consumers + Cost: Rising Concerns for Providers and Patients
More people now think like healthcare consumers and are making decisions based on costs and care because they are paying more than ever before. According to this survey published by Wolters Kluwer, 73% of those surveyed in the US will consider healthcare a main factor when they vote in 2020.
Hospital leaders, those on the front lines of care, and consumers are making hard decisions and assessing their priorities in light of healthcare policies and rising costs. No hospital or health system can afford inaction or to ignore increasingly savvy consumers trying to manage their own health.
Closing the Education-Practice Gap
Wolters Kluwer survey results suggest that new nurses are not fully prepared for clinical practice—a trend that has been on the rise for several years.
While the reasons why are widely disputed amongst educators and practice nurses, both groups agree that growing new nurse critical thinking and clinical judgment skills, along with their confidence, is crucial in readying them for practice, particularly in the new care environment.
Nurse Executives: Driving Change in the Era of COVID-19
As Chief Nursing Officers and other nursing leaders prepare for the new, post-COVID-19 reality, there is an opportunity to ensure that the positive changes that have been made to clinical workflow and patient safety during the crisis survive beyond the pandemic.
Nurse executives are in a unique position to drive strategic priorities that will strengthen the profession. They can serve as influential voices at both the strategy table and point of care, effectively guiding current and future decision making. Learn more about the seven strategic imperatives that can help these leaders drive lasting change for nursing staff, the community, and the nursing profession as a whole.
Key Takeaways
Variations in care and cost is a global epidemic.
The survey reveals almost everyone who comes into contact with the healthcare system knows that differences in care and costs exist depending on location, health system or even department within the same hospital.
Consumers, hospital executives, physicians and nurses identify substantial differences in costs and in the ways that healthcare is delivered.
98% of all respondents agree that there are variations across locations, health systems and even among departments in the same hospital.
When people recognize that differences in care and cost exist, they make hard choices.
Consumers are willing to shop around for better care: 78% are likely to travel past the hospital closest to them to one farther away that has a better reputation.
43% have not moved forward with medical treatment such as a procedure, medication and/or therapy, because of a lack of trust in the care they were getting.
The majority of physicians and nurses (79%) say the cost to the patient influences the treatment choices or recommendations the provider makes.
Beyond the financial impact of variability, differences in care create risks for patients and for hospitals & health systems.
Those who know healthcare best—the people working inside the system day-to-day—were asked to rank the greatest potential risks posed.
Here is what topped the list:
- Patient gets sub-optimal treatment or the wrong treatment and/or medications because of incomplete or incorrect information.
- Care teams are not aligned on best care approach or management for the patient.
- The impact of a poor patient experience.
Consumers see these variations in care caused by loss, omission or failure to share information. These lead to mistakes in treatment and medications, and costly misalignment of the care “team” on the best approach to treat the patient.
Perception of artificial intelligence (AI) and technology in future healthcare.
The hospital C-suite has a unique vantage point of the care divide across the hospital or health system. How do they, as well as clinicians and consumers surveyed feel about whether it will fill some of the gaps?
Root Causes of Variability
“Why are doctors and nurses thinking about costs? I think as front line caregivers we are trying to be stewards of the system for costs, but we’re not always armed with enough information. If we already have that piece of information, we can provide choices and alternatives. We could be much more transparent with prices.”
Dr. Peter Bonis,
Chief Medical Officer of Clinical Effectiveness,
Wolters Kluwer, Health
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Next-Generation Nurses: Empowered + Engaged
This independent survey took place well before the advent of the global COVID-19 pandemic. It and current day challenges paint a picture that is sobering. The nurse shortage and present day challenges could potentially mean an accelerated loss of expert knowledge, nurses leaving the profession or transitioning to advanced practice, and shifts to a newer workforce of nurses of a different mindset.
The research also examines how next-generation nurses differ from their experienced counterparts (those practicing 10 years or more) in attitudes, beliefs and priorities for the future. The findings serve as a wake-up call for industry as we navigate the rapidly transitioning nurse workforce.
Rising Healthcare Costs are Top Priority for Patients and Providers
More people now think like healthcare consumers and are making decisions based on costs and care because they are paying more than ever before. According to this survey published by Wolters Kluwer, 73% of those surveyed in the US will consider healthcare a main factor when they vote in 2020.
Hospital leaders, those on the front lines of care, and consumers are making hard decisions and assessing their priorities in light of healthcare policies and rising costs. No hospital or health system can afford inaction or to ignore increasingly savvy consumers trying to manage their own health.