Healthcare in 2020: The six major changes and what they mean for 2021 and beyond

The healthcare industry in 2021 and beyond is permanently changed as a result of the global pandemic. For the U.S. health system, 2020 saw six major shifts that set the stage for a fundamental reset for its programs, services, and funding next year:

1-Increased Attention to Public Health
2-Increased Attention to Science
3-Decreased Confidence in Government
4-Growing Social Despair
5-Increased Consumption of Disinformation
6-Increased Private Investor Opportunism

When the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a global pandemic March 11 and news reports of COVID-19 deaths from the Life Care Center in Seattle began, the U.S. healthcare system’s future was fundamentally altered.

Bill Gates is reported to have said “banking is necessary; banks are not.” The same might be said for healthcare based on the changes likely in 2021. It’s a necessary industry, but its old rules no longer apply.