3M CES 2021: What does the future of health care look like?

Best selling author, inventor and technologist Nick Webb describes the trends he sees that are disrupting the current state of health care. He says our previous changes have been too slow and too incremental to solve the problems we’re facing right now. He predicts 20 percent of hospitals may close as we re-think how care is delivered. The public isn’t willing to put up with a “patient experience” that papers over the too often experienced waits, delays and unnecessary complexity of our current model.

An example: The rapid adoption of telemedicine during the COVID-19 pandemic improved access to care. We are starting to see a return to pre-COVID-19 policies, and some are turning away from telemedicine in spite of the widespread improved access to care and appreciation for this mode of health care interaction that has been supported by decades of medical studies. Rather than bold action, we’re returning to the old ways. We will be continuing old approaches that restrict access, increase barriers, increase costs and degrade outcomes. 

Listen to Nick Webb describe major trends and three things that hospitals and clinics can do to prepare for their own survival.

Dr. Gordon Moore is Senior Medical Director, Clinical Strategy and Value-based Care for 3M Health Information Systems.