On Tuesday 23 November 2021, the team at Australian Healthcare Week (AHW) – the largest healthcare event in the southern hemisphere – released an industry report, detailing the achievements of our health system and future opportunities that await.
Titled “The Australian Healthcare Industry Report: Exploring the Pandemic Effect and Discussing Priorities in 2022 and Beyond,” the report surveyed over 110 leaders from across the Australian healthcare industry to uncover:
- how their investments and priorities have been shaped by the pandemic and,
- to get an insight into the forces of change that will transform healthcare in 2022 and beyond.
The report summarises our health leaders’ responses into three trends: the impact of COVID-19 on our healthcare system, the rising role digital health and the changing face of the healthcare workforce.
A welcomed Australian Healthcare Industry Report
Upon accessing and reading the report, Olinqua’s CEO, Arthur Ong, commented on the importance of the information presented in this report highlights the immensely crucial role that our hospitals and its workforce play to safeguard people’s health and wellbeing.
“Thank you to the team at Australian Health Week for sharing a comprehensive industry report that not only place an important focus on the commitment, dedication and sacrifice of our healthcare workers and systems but also celebrates its innovation in the face of many challenges and constraints in the last two years since the global pandemic,” said Arthur.
“As an organisation passionate about empowering better, smarter and safer healthcare through the use of innovative technologies, we at Olinqua look forward to continuing to positively support all three key areas identified in the report by our health leaders – systems to deal with COVID-19, digital healthcare and healthcare workforce.”
Summarising the Australian Healthcare Industry Report
A copy of “The Australian Healthcare Industry Report: Exploring the Pandemic Effect and Discussing Priorities in 2022 and Beyond” can be accessed be contacting the Australian Healthcare Week team.
Below are the three identified key elements of the report, summarised by the Olinqua team.
COVID-19 and Healthcare
The AHW Industry Report provides inside on the impact of Covid-19 on healthcare environments and changes to the future of healthcare delivery, as identified by health leaders in public and private hospitals, in the aged care sector and within Government health departments.
For many industries, COVID has been an accelerant for disruption and innovation and the healthcare sector is no different.
Here some of the key statistics that we found interesting describing how this global pandemic has changed and is changing the face of Australian healthcare:
- Infection control and prevention are now seen as significantly less vital to preventing and managing the issues caused by COVID-19;
- 23% of respondents indicate that workforce upskiling and training is the most critical in managing the challenges posed by COVID-19;
- 61% of all respondents believed that COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the way healthcare will be delivered in the future.
The big takeaway from the Report is that having a prepared healthcare staff, environments and tools to deal with COVID-19 in a responsible and timely manner is key to preventing the necessity of future measures.
Digital healthcare
While exerting strain and revealing how vulnerable the healthcare industry is, the pandemic has also accelerated change, encouraging – and sometimes forcing – health systems, providers, and operators to adapt and innovate digitally in a short period.
These statistics certainly attest to the summary statement above:
- 93% of respondents stated that either their workplace had become more digital or that they believe the pandemic should have been further leveraged to boost digitality in the workplace;
- This shift has been noticed by employees too, with 36% noting increased workplace efficiency, 14% noting that there is a much higher level of accessibility in the medical sector due to telehealth technology, and 13% believing that better patient management is the biggest benefit of digital care.
“The Australian Healthcare Industry Report surveys and analysis shows that transition towards digital healthcare brings benefits for both staff members and patients,” observed Arthur Ong.
“Through Olinqua’s work in over 70 Australian healthcare facilities to bring end to end, disparate systems together, we can also confidently say that innovative technologies – in this case through a unified communications, safety, location and mobility platform – is helping to optimise workforce, hospital and patient outcomes.”
“We look forward to being able to play a continued role in the digitisation of workflows to support our vision of a world where healthcare is delivered better, smarter and safer.”
Healthcare workforce
The healthcare workforce has been undoubtedly impacted by the pandemic, with both the size of the workforce and the capabilities of the workforce being challenged. In this environment where things change daily, the health system is under more stress than ever before.
This has highlighted a series of critical workforce considerations that must be addressed to manage the COVID-19 pandemic in the short term, rebuild the system in the long term, and maintain a balance between sometimes competing priorities. Some recommendations from the report to support our healthcare workforce include:
- more Digital Literacy staff would be required to educate existing employees on navigating people through new processes, Governance staff are necessary to implement such substantial changes and,
- HR, People, Culture and Wellbeing staff are required to deal with the toll of the crisis and the sustained pressure on the workforce.
“As consumers of our hospitals and healthcare facilities, the Olinqua team members and I are immensely grateful for the dedication but also sacrifices that our healthcare workforce provides, especially during this global pandemic,” commented Arthur Ong.
“The recommendations outlined in this Report are so crucial for us and all other vendors focused on supporting our essential healthcare workforce today and into tomorrow.”
“Reducing overload by providing end to end support from deployment to implementation, change management and ongoing, accessible customer success is high on our list of service priorities.”
Interested in finding out more?
Join us at the 11th Annual Australian Healthcare Week, the largest healthcare event in Australasia, taking place at the ICC Sydney on the 16th-17th of March 2022; to learn more about how healthcare is transforming and innovating to overcome pressing challenges, meet growing need and deliver superior patient experiences.
The Olinqua team will be at Booth 122 in the Digital Healthcare section to workshop any digital healthcare questions and ideas that you have. You are also invited to be the first to view our next generation technologies, connecting one workforce to one platform.
Get in touch for an initial demo or if you need a digital solution to achieve goals of better, safer and more connected hospital environment and workforce.
