Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1516189
11 CEO / STRATEGY Providence CEO's top 10 predictions for 2024 By Kelly Gooch O n Jan. 23, Rod Hochman, MD, president and CEO of Renton, Wash.-based Providence, released his sixth annual list of healthcare predictions for the year ahead. Dr. Hochman partnered with his C-suite to compile the predictions based on research and analysis of current trends and developments in the sector, Providence spokesperson Michael Connors told Becker's. e list covers topics ranging from artificial intelligence and treatment options to sustainability. e 10 predictions, per a news release from Providence: 1. Generative AI "will be fast-paced and ubiquitous," resulting in innovative partnerships and a new era of healthcare transformation. 2. Clinicians will lead the charge in the ethical use of AI. is includes advocating for patients and prioritizing governance to ensure guardrails around patient data and privacy. 3. Innovative care models, tested at health systems as pilot projects in 2023, will shi to broader adoption in 2024 to provide relief for the nation's healthcare workforce and ensure care access. 4. Healthcare spending in the U.S. will exceed $4.5 trillion annually, leading to a shake-up in payment models and costs. 5. Fortune 500 insurers will face increased pressure to prioritize adequate, timely coverage for needed care and to help ensure healthcare workers receive market- competitive wages. 6. As hospitals and health systems continue to pursue health equity, collaborations to improve maternal health outcomes among people of color will gain significant strength. 7. Health systems will focus on ensuring access to care, particularly for people living in rural areas of the county. is may include health systems partnering to fill the local talent pipeline, increase mobile offerings and create more virtual access to care. 8. Health systems will join forces to build secure, de- identified data sets that will lead to clinical breakthroughs and better health outcomes. 9. Organizations will also collaborate more on administrative functions, such as IT support and cybersecurity, instead of duplicating resources to allow clinicians to stay focused on direct patient care. 10. Health systems will increasingly strive to reduce their carbon footprint. ey will also focus on sustainability practices such as energy use and waste reduction. n 'It's going to break Denver Health': CEO speaks out on uncompensated migrant care By Alexis Kayser Denver Health "is at a critical, critical point," according to its CEO, Donna Lynne, DrPH. The health system is overwhelmed with care costs for uninsured patients, particularly migrants — 36,000 of whom have arrived in Denver since December 2022, according to The Denver Post. "Where do you think the migrants are getting care? They are getting care at Denver Health," Dr. Lynne said at a Jan. 9 finance and governance committee meeting. Her remarks were reported by CBS Colorado on Jan. 12. "While I have tremendous compassion for what's going on, it's heartbreaking," Dr. Lynne continued. "It's going to break Denver Health in a way that we didn't even anticipate." Denver Health has treated more than 8,000 migrants who lack legal documentation in the past year, totaling about 20,000 visits, according to Steven Federico, MD, a pediatrician at the health system. The majority of these patients are coming from Venezuela and arrive needing treatment for chronic and communicable diseases after making the difficult journey. Eric Lavonas, MD, an emergency physician at Denver Health, expects the situation to worsen as subzero temperatures sweep across Colorado, exposing unhoused, uninsured populations to frostbite and hypothermia. In 2020, the health system had about $60 million in uncompensated care costs. Last year, costs sprung to $136 million, a quarter of which came from caring for non-Denver residents. Due to the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act, Denver Health cannot turn patients away from the emergency room and has resorted to other cost-cutting measures. The system closed 15 of its 78 inpatient beds for substance misuse and mental health treatment and did away with planned salary increases. Denver Health lost $35 million in 2022, and 2023 could have been worse had the system not received some outside help, according to the Post. The state, Kaiser Permanente Colorado and private donors infused a collective $20 million into the health system, which ended the year $2 million in the red. It was the first year that Denver Health received some state funding outside of Medicaid. "I suspect that no other hospital in the state of Colorado can say that [they have cared for so many migrants] and there has been no reimbursement for that and quite frankly it is an ongoing conversation with the city, with the state and with the federal government," Dr. Lynne said. n