What are the top healthcare predictions for 2023? Forbes magazine seems to be the most referenced and trusted source.1 I note here 5 of 10 on their list: more customer segmentation, broader acceptance of value-based care, a closer look at home-based care, continuation of COVID-19's impact, and progress on the true underlying causes of clinician burnout. Healthcare companies are seeking to tailor their offerings to serve and grow with diverse populations differentially, questioning whether the clinical model used for individuals in one community or culture should be the same as one used in a different community or culture. The push that is finally being heeded is to pay for quality rather than volume. However, safeguards must be in place to ensure that value-based care results in lower costs and improved patient outcomes, rather than allowing it to provide an avenue for abuse by providers for personal financial gain. A focused shift from hospital and institutional care to home care is required. More Americans want to age at home in the community; this exponentially increases the demand for home health workers. I think most people can relate to "COVID fatigue." Will the pandemic and associated stress on frontline workers and healthcare systems ever end? Organizations are trying to reduce clinician burnout with strategies such as streamlining work processes and acknowledging to workers that they are valuable. Leadership must remember that workers are the architectural plan designed to prevent a building (or organization) from falling down.
NP leadership
A sixth prediction from Forbes addresses the leadership crisis in American healthcare. Who advocates for the core values of an organization? Who develops strategies and people in service of the organization's mission? Who places the patient before profit? Do our leaders embody these characteristics? Now is the opportune time for NPs and other APRNs to step up and actively seek leadership roles in healthcare. Nursing has long been advocating for more nurse representation at decision tables, in higher-level administrative positions across the healthcare industry, and in boardrooms. Over 355,000 NPs in the US represent a force not to be ignored. Our progress continues to be juxtaposed with traditional and timeworn challenges. I thank Beth Haney, DNP, FNP-C, FAANP, FAAN for taking on the monumental task of producing the 35th Annual APRN Legislative Update in this issue. As a clinician, educator, and elected official in California, Dr. Haney's work and service impact the lives and health of individuals and communities in multiple ways. She has summarized aspects of APRN practice that we have come to expect in the annual update as well as additional information about new regulations necessitated by the explosion of telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic. NPs are positioned to lead innovative models of care.
The journal's scope
To prepare readers for 2023, the editorial team has planned a slate of interesting and practical topics, including continuing education offerings and content across the lifespan. In March, we will publish a special issue on pediatrics. April is the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) issue, with articles written by DNP graduates or focused on DNP education, role, or clinical outcomes. Explore the many ways you can stay engaged and benefit from access to the journal through our print and online issues, social media pages, podcast, and two virtual conferences per year. (Visit our website, http://tnpj.com, for all.) You may notice logos on the journal cover: Kansas Advanced Practice Nurses Association now joins the United Advanced Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia in endorsing The Nurse Practitioner as the official journal of its organization. Welcome, KAPN.
Advocacy for our nation's health is ongoing, and we all have a responsibility to stay up to date on what is happening in our multidimensional healthcare system, which includes the legislative world. You can make a difference. Stay with The Nurse Practitioner for the journey.
Jamesetta A. Newland, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, DPNAP, FAAN
Editor-in-Chief mailto:[email protected]
REFERENCES