News: AHA releases 2024 Environmental Scan with insights on current healthcare landscape
Earlier this week, the American Hospital Association (AHA) released its 2024 Environmental Scan, analyzing the healthcare landscape with data from 2019 to 2022 on topics important to staff, leaders, boards and community stakeholders. It shows general trends for hospitals including the increased expense per patient and for contract labor, as well as an increase in average length of stay. The scan also shows a 2024 projection of costs based on medical cost trends.
“The Environmental Scan highlights emerging trends and innovative approaches that hospitals and health systems are taking to improve clinical care, operational efficiency and consumer engagement,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “It helps our field to strategically chart the best pathways forward and plan for the future.”
The 2024 Environmental Scan covers a variety of topics, including:
- Hospital and health system landscape: Financial and operational challenges and care in alternative settings.
- Workforce: Shortages, resiliency, and technology to enhance the workforce experience.
- Better care and greater value: Patient safety culture and risks, value-based care, and emerging care delivery transformation models.
- Consumerism: Retail clinic trends, digital tools, and “infodemic” management strategies.
- Trend snapshots: Public trust, coverage, artificial intelligence, and climate’s impact on health.
- Equity, behavioral health, and rural health: Highlighted throughout the report.
The AHA used information and resources from multiple different academic and research sources to create the 2024 Environmental Scan.
Editor’s note: To download the AHA Environmental Scan, click here.