All Things #PhysicalTherapy: Mid-Year Update — Top 2024 Healthcare Challenges for Providers
#PhysicalTherapy community,
Can you believe we’re already halfway through 2024? It’s time for a quick check-in on the top challenges we’re facing as healthcare providers this year. Buckle up for Part I of our two-part mid-year review. (Spoiler alert: Part II will be my report card from 2024 prediction posts I and II).
1. Workforce Shortages and Burnout
The never-ending saga of workforce shortages continues. Sure, we’ve seen some new grads enter the field and a few veterans return, but that barely makes a dent with so many leaving, cutting back hours, or hopping employers. And burnout? It’s like glitter — you can’t get rid of it, and it’s everywhere. Despite efforts to address it, we’re barely moving the needle this year. We have addressed this tough burnout topic HERE.
2. Inflation and Medicare Cuts (and Reimbursement Cuts Generally)
Inflation is the unwelcome guest that refuses to leave, and it’s bringing its buddy, Medicare Cuts, to the party. Rising costs without the ability to hike prices are squeezing everyone from non-profit hospitals to for-profit hospices. And when margins get tight, everything suffers — from quality patient time to working conditions.
For 2024, Medicare cuts were supposed to slice off 3.37%, but Congress gave us a 1.68% bandaid fix starting March 9, 2024. Adjusted for inflation, Medicare physician pay has nosedived about 29% since 2001. With 2024’s inflation, it’s like a 6% cut. Physical therapy? We’ve been taking the hardest hits since 2021. Many providers are now limiting Medicare patients or thinking of early retirement. This isn’t just a financial issue — it’s a patient care crisis in the making.
3. Data Security and Privacy
With health records going digital, we’re basically in a cyber Wild West. Keeping patient data safe is a top priority, but it’s also a costly one. Regular staff training and advanced security measures are essential, but guess what? More costs that we can’t pass on to patients (side note, #physicaltherapy practices continue to see their IT spend go up further encroaching on margin).
4. Regulatory Compliance
If compliance were a game, it’d be the kind that no one wins. It’s like a black hole sucking up time and resources, pulling us away from patient care, and pushing us closer to burnout. Keeping up with value-based care initiatives, new billing codes, and ever-changing regulations is an invisible cost that’s all too real.
So there you have it — our mid-year reality check. Stay tuned for Part II, where a mid year report card on those annual predictions. Keep fighting the good fight, #PhysicalTherapy warriors!
Thoughts?
@physicaltherapy
And hey, if you’re enjoying this wild ride through the world of All Things #Physical therapy, consider subscribing to my Substack. For a treasure trove of past wisdom, check out EIM’s blog, where over 350 posts await your eager eyes. Feel free to share this free newsletter with fellow therapy enthusiasts and burnout battlers. Lastly, 100% of all proceeds from my book Called to Care: A Medical Provider’s Guide for Humanizing Healthcare goes to The Foundation for Physical Therapy Research
