The changing role of hospitals as healthcare evolves

In A Leadership Perspective, Baylor Scott & White Health leaders share insights on healthcare industry trends, current issues and best practices.

The healthcare landscape is rapidly changing, right down to the very core of what the word “healthcare” means. Our definition of healthcare is evolving — from sick care to preventive care, from care in the hospital to care anywhere, and from getting well to staying well.

But what does this new wave of healthcare thinking mean for the hospitals we’re trying to help you avoid? As the industry increasingly shifts toward preventive care, the role of the hospital will see significant changes.

Fewer, smaller hospitals

Over the next decade, you can expect to see fewer and smaller hospitals. Rather than large medical centers, hospitals will become more intensive care areas. The patients we treat in hospitals will be sicker and in need of more intensive care than they are today.

Care closer to home

Points of care for more routine visits or minor conditions will move closer to the patient, giving you more convenient access to the care you need. The offerings at outpatient clinics will continue to grow, as procedures that may take place in a hospital setting today will move to these smaller facilities that are closer to home.

New ways to access your care

In many cases, you’ll be able to access your physician digitally, without even leaving your home.

Tools and applications like the MyBSWHealth app are making this possible today, and we at Baylor Scott & White will continue to find new, innovative ways to help you take ownership of your health.

You play a key role in your own health

In the new order of things, it will be paramount that patients take more accountability for their own health. As we start to view healthcare as a way of life, we each must recognize how our daily decisions and behaviors affect our health. To get where we as an industry need to go, you and your physician must approach your health as partners.

This is where healthcare is headed, but these changes will not happen overnight, and not without a few hurdles along the way. However, our commitment to your health and safety, and to providing quality care will never change — no matter how, when or where you receive care.

Some in the industry are further along in moving toward this model than others. Baylor Scott & White is on the frontlines, working to redefine healthcare and drive this change toward a healthcare system that works better for all.