As we begin to put 2020 in the rearview mirror, healthcare professionals may be feeling apprehensive about transitioning their medical content for 2021. While the past year may leave us feeling a bit traumatized and in need of a (well-earned!) vacation, you may also be looking at how to adapt to the upcoming year. 

2020 changed the healthcare landscape and how people look to get information from and about their personalized care. One of the most important lessons that we take from the COVID-19 pandemic is messaging issues.  We’d like to help you regain the authoritative voice that your patients need. 

Themes for Medical Content 2021

Healthcare Spending and the Economy

One of the dominant issues that we’ll face going into 2021 is the economic landscape. While the 2008 recession was caused by housing and investment issues, the healthcare industry experienced effects, too. Looking behind the 2008 recession, the National Health Expenditure Accounts, or NHEA, showed that accounts dropped from 6.5% to 3.9% or a 2.6% drop. However, that reduction was also influenced by a 1.6% reduction in inflation. The realized percentage drop was closer to 1%. While that can affect a family’s ability to seek the same medical attention, it’s a less stark outlook than many had expected; welcome news when you view other economy sectors during the recession. Structures experienced around a 10% reduction. 

Additionally, while there was a slight reduction in healthcare spending, many offices continued to remain understaffed. This puts stress on hiring and training appropriate medical professionals. 

The 2008 recession wasn’t caused or related to health issues, and there wasn’t much of a dip in the healthcare market. Coming out of the Coronavirus pandemic, the healthcare industry is poised to have an upswing, regardless of the economic situation. Patients who have postponed regular appointments or elective procedures will be seeking to have their needs met. 

Elective Procedures

When you look at the upcoming year, there is certainly room to be optimistic. During the global pandemic, many institutions stopped offering elective procedures. However, this didn’t eliminate the need for those procedures but just postponed them. Healthcare professionals should expect an increase in the number of procedures and visits from their patients. 

Electronic Resources

COVID-19 expanded the patient’s use of telehealth services, and many healthcare practitioners found themselves having to purchase specialized equipment and software to handle this new need. Of course, following the pandemic, maintaining telehealth options has benefits for your patients. People recognize the benefits of telehealth for the following reasons:

• Reducing travel
• Limiting exposure to illness
• Easing time restraints on their busy schedules. 

A study before the pandemic shows that many family physicians spend only 27% of their time with patients, and almost half (49%) of their time is spent on administrative duties! 

More than 60% of the surveyed family physicians felt that the increase in administrative duties was the biggest issue facing their practice. One of the big factors in running any medical practice is updating and maintaining your online presence. These efforts continue to chip away at already tight schedules and further reduce your ability to focus on your patient’s care. 

Strategizing for 2021

Just getting through 2020 is a major accomplishment, but you need to prepare to enter a busy year for the health industry. You should continue to utilize and promote your digital services, maintain an online presence, and invest in continued training, education, and hiring for your practice. 

If one of the main issues your healthcare practice is facing is reducing the administrative workload, consider bringing Medical Content Solutions to your team. With a fully-vetted and functioning content team, we can help create the content that your practice needs. Our skills include newsletters, email campaigns, press releases, and ebooks. Additionally, we provide content for your website, including landing pages, articles, blogs, and staff biographies. 

Our approach allows you to have a single point of contact while gaining a full staff of writers, editors, and project managers to ensure that your 2021 is the best year yet!