It’s undeniable. Our nation’s healthcare system is rapidly changing, reshaped in ways we once thought impossible or, at the very least, improbable. A global pandemic has accentuated vulnerabilities in our health system and has acted as a catalyst to accelerate long-overdue, radical shifts in how we care for patients. In the end, one outcome of the global crisis may be better care for our nation’s active-duty military members and veterans, American Indians, Native Alaskans and the many people served by Medicaid, Medicare and our federal government’s other essential healthcare programs.
Optimizing for efficiency is particularly prudent as a pandemic bears down on hospitals, causing workflow bottlenecks. As chronic- and acute-care needs balloon, our nation’s health systems must find new ways to streamline care. In imaging alone, there is up to $12 billion in potential waste1 likely due to patient no-shows, wrong tests, repeat exams, poor image quality and more. By eliminating the need to travel for an unnecessary repeat scan, we can better serve, for example, an ailing veteran who lives far from a hospital or lacks transportation.