Chair File: How COVID-19 Will Reshape Health Care: 10 Predictions

As we forge ahead in 2021 facing a lot of uncertainty, there’s one thing we recognize: The COVID-19 pandemic will have a lasting effect on the health and well-being of our nation.

Our hospitals and health systems are already rising to the challenge and will continue to transform health care for the better. I see creativity from so many people in the field even though we face intense pressures with the hard work of getting the pandemic behind us and helping communities heal.

As I mentioned on the Feb. 5 AHA call for all members, the Providence team joined me in assembling a list of 10 “predictions” for health care this year. Our list includes harnessing the power of big data to prepare for the next pandemic, making cybersecurity a top priority, addressing racial disparities in health care with greater urgency, among other areas.

You can read the 10 predictions here.

Any vision for the future of health is tied to an understanding of the importance of all of us working together to get through more challenging days ahead. The crisis has — and will — bring out the best in us.

Rod Hochman, M.D.
AHA Chair