It’s time to move forward with resolve to build trust

Many of the country’s most powerful healthcare executives gathered last week at Modern Healthcare’s Leadership Symposium to discuss the future of the industry, revealing some inspiring and some bleak prognoses. Progressive leaders spoke with hope about not-for-profit collaborations to improve patient care. Others seemed to simply throw up their hands, likely exhausted from the endless work of the past 19 months.

The disillusioned spoke with fatigue about encountering bureaucracy and complacency that they felt would make the industry unable, not just unwilling, to make major changes to lower costs and eliminate inefficiencies. Others spoke with anger about red tape and processes that were preventing them from being able to address major issues like staffing shortages or the timeline for approval of new therapeutics.

Another major theme during the conference was the concern that patient/ provider relationships had been irreparably damaged during the pandemic.

As an outsider, the most frustrating part was when a few guests agreed that the government should get out of the way and let healthcare leaders take the reins. Comments followed about how no one knows as much about healthcare as executives do and that legislators were incapable of making substantive change.

Yet time and time again, guests raised questions about why the same conversations were being brought up. About fee for service, the lack of real patient engagement and the inherent conflict of value-based care.

In just over five years at this publication’s helm, I’ll admit I’m tired of hearing the same things too.

I’ve been impressed with the mission and true passion for the work many of you have. But I too am fed up hearing about goals that lack ambition and are filled with platitudes and small ideas.

For many of us, the pandemic has likely been the most transformative experience of our lives. No one has been left untouched, especially the relatives and friends of those who died from COVID-19. Some of them no longer trust the system. Many also feel policymakers do little to ensure healthcare is a right and that providers first do no harm.

My hope is that the pandemic provides a clean slate, an opportunity to eliminate all of the things stakeholders know can lead to distrust and skepticism of the industry. Those with the resolve, may you succeed.