The year 2015 marks a turning point that permanently shaped healthcare industry developments throughout the last ten years. Through decisive actions and important occurrences in 2015, the healthcare industry experienced fundamental changes affecting health system policies, clinical practices, and patient outcomes. These ten key events from 2015 continue to shape how healthcare operates today:
1. Supreme Court Upholds the Affordable Care Act (ACA)
The U.S. Supreme Court made a historic ruling in support of the ACA which protected tax subsidies that benefited eligible Americans nationwide. The Supreme Court’s ruling established the Affordable Care Act as a permanent healthcare component while significantly reducing the number of uninsured individuals.
2. Surge in Healthcare Consolidations
During that year health systems and hospitals executed 112 hospital-related mergers and acquisitions following a substantial increase in such transactions. Healthcare organizations consolidated their operations to achieve improved operations and a bigger market size, which modified the healthcare competition framework.
3. Widespread Adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
The adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHRs) reached 80 percent in U.S. hospitals during the year 2015. This digital revolution improved healthcare data administration while generating better patient care results though privacy and interoperability issues remained present.
4. Transition to ICD-10 Coding System
Healthcare providers performed the ICD-10 coding system implementation on October 1st, 2015 following delayed transitions. Medical organizations experienced numerous implementation hurdles while adopting the reengineered coding system which introduced more codes to advance healthcare delivery despite its documentation challenges.
5. Expansion of Telemedicine Services
The expansion of telemedicine in 2015 occurred because legislators passed reforms to remove obstacles from licensure procedures and payment barriers. Telehealth services started to thrive in later years because the expansion increased care access most notably in regions that lacked health services.
6. Emergence of Antibiotic-Resistant ‘Superbugs’
Healthcare professionals warned about increasing antibiotic-resistant disease rates, also called “superbugs,” throughout 2015. Significant investments were made in new diagnostic tools and antibiotics while different strategies were established to decrease infection rates because of this issue.
7. Rise of Online Healthcare Ratings and Reviews
Healthcare providers came under increasing public scrutiny, resulting in numerous online platforms enabling patient ratings of healthcare services. Patient satisfaction scores and infection rate publishing by platforms enabled consumers to choose wisely between providers which motivated healthcare organizations to boost care quality.
8. Advanced Practice Providers Address Physician Shortages
A severe physician shortage caused states to authorize nurse practitioners and physician assistants and pharmacists to deliver complete care consistent with their education and experience. These changes in the healthcare system are intended to reduce healthcare pressures while expanding patient care access.
9. Escalation of Healthcare Costs Despite Increased Insurance Coverage
The healthcare industry witnessed more people getting health insurance coverage, although numerous patients still encountered monetary issues because of high insurance co-payments and out-of-pocket spending. The observed contradiction revealed that expanding insurance coverage alone did not solve the affordability issue of healthcare.
10. Escalating Pharmaceutical Costs Spark Outrage
The pharmaceutical industry encountered public criticism because prescription drug expenses dramatically rose. The public and government investigators examined controversially expensive medication price increases that turned essential medication affordability into a critical point of discussion regarding drug pricing reforms.
Conclusion
The healthcare industry has experienced permanent impacts from 2015 developments while hospitals focused their strategies on policymaking, patient care and operational methods. Analyzing key historical healthcare milestones gives an essential vision into both present healthcare conditions and future healthcare pathways.
