Leading Innovations in Person-Centered Care:

5 Trends to Watch in 2023

by / Wednesday, 30 November 2022 / Published in All Resources


The healthcare sector has faced enormous challenges over the past several years. These challenges, though incredibly trying, have led to important opportunities to demonstrate resiliency, innovation, and partnership. Trends in healthcare are forcing organizations to place patient experience, employee well-being, sustainability, and safety at the forefront. To keep up with trends, person-centered healthcare organizations are embracing concepts and technologies that align with the drivers of person-centered excellence to remain cutting edge. Here are the top trends set to impact healthcare in 2023, and the person-centered approaches to keep organizations at the forefront of delivering a care experience that meets the needs of patients, families, communities, and the healthcare workforce.

1. Healthcare Consumerism

In today’s environment patients want care at their fingertips. They want healthcare to work both for them and with them, and if it doesn’t, will quickly find another provider. Healthcare consumerism is reliant on patients feeling like care is convenient, individualized to their circumstances, and fits into their lives. In an increasingly competitive healthcare marketplace, patients have an unprecedented array of choices for where and how they will receive care. To become a provider of choice amidst these options, it is incumbent on person-centered organizations to deliver care that is safe, efficient, and effective that is also easy to access, personalized and compassionate. Convenient hours, digital engagement platforms, exceptional customer service and a comfortable environment will be necessary to meet the needs of ever-more discerning consumers. To do this, we must be person-centered, seeing each patient as a whole person, not just a symptom or diagnosis. Providers must take the time to communicate with patients and understand their concerns and life circumstances to provide the highest value care.

2. From Sick Care to Health Promotion

Globally, we are seeing the shift from healthcare to wellness – and this is a trend that we see increasing in 2023. Person-centered healthcare organizations are engaging communities to promote healthier lifestyle practices and preventative care. This includes collaborating with community partners to understand and address underlying factors that contribute to poor health outcomes, including access to transportation, food insecurity, environmental pollution, and safety concerns. Initiatives like mobile vaccine clinics, in-house food pantries, robust social service referral networks and healthy home environment assessments are just a few of the ways person-centered healthcare organizations are re-defining the scope of healthcare to address the complex and inter-related factors that drive health outcomes. As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, this focus on preventative care and social determinants of health will become increasingly important, putting person-centered healthcare systems with strong community engagement in the driver seat for success.

3. Caring for our Caregivers

The past several years have placed unimaginable stress on our caregivers. Recent surveys by global nursing organizations showcase this, finding that close to 60% of nurses have seen an increase in workplace violence since the pandemic began. As we enter 2023, it is of utmost importance that we develop new and innovative strategies to keep caregivers safe, balancing the rights of patients and families with the obligation to provide our caregivers with secure and respectful places of work. Organizations will look to programs that help increase caring and empathic communication, while adding new processes to restore our caregivers. Yet these programs are unsustainable without an organizational culture that places people at the forefront of the care experience, and this includes our staff. To combat caregiver burnout and resignation we must look inward, and rebuild person-centered organizational cultures that promote care, compassion, and healing for all.

4. Sustainability

There is a deep connection between the environment and health and wellbeing. In a person-centered healthcare setting, this connection involves everything from designing spaces for healing that are tied to elements of nature, to serving wholesome and natural food to patients. And yet, the healthcare sector is known to be a significant contributor to the global planetary health crisis. As we look to reduce waste and emissions and improve community health, we must reassess how our healthcare organizations operate. How do employees travel to work? How are we working to reduce waste? How efficient are our buildings? Do we source sustainable food for patients and communities? Person-centered organizations understand that efforts aimed at protecting and improving the health of individuals and our communities must also extend to the broader issues of planetary health. This foundational understanding will keep these healthcare systems leading the way toward a more responsible future as we enter 2023.

5. Communication is the Key to Success

In today’s digital environment, it is easy to get lost behind a digital screen and lose sight of the communication skills necessary to make caring visible to staff and patients. It is equally as easy to forget that communication is a skill that needs to be coached and nurtured. As the healthcare landscape continues to shift, these communication skills are becoming increasingly more important. Patients and staff want to be heard and recognized, and communication skill building enables organizations to respond to these needs. Person-Centered Programs that equip staff with concrete skills for communicating with empathy, equity, and inclusion create a foundation for a culture of caring and engagement.

2023 is set to be a year of innovation and growth within the healthcare sector. Organizations with a strong person-centered framework have the skills and culture to drive success in the new year, and we empower you to join this list of industry leaders. Explore the organizations that have achieved person-centered excellence and see how their cultural framework has helped to drive and sustain their success.

Ready to start your journey in the new year? Contact Planetree today.

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