By Evereth Woodruff 
The healthcare landscape is thriving with innovation, from AI advancements to digital platforms and substantial venture capital to the tune of $49 billion since 2021. Yet patients aren’t exactly getting what they need or want. The statistics on patient dissatisfaction are staggering. According to Accenture, 88 percent of healthcare consumers expect their care to be as personalized as online shopping or vacation planning. A CVS Health Insights study shows 83 percent want a more coordinated, seamless, and holistic experience, while 73 percent are concerned about the cost of care for themselves and their families, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
Healthcare has never been more technologically advanced, but we’re failing to meet even the most basic expectations. And it shows in this sobering outcome data: a report from the American Medical Association shows that physicians are finding up to 78 percent of their patients are abandoning treatment due to delays in prior authorization. Notable reports that 61 percent of patients skip appointments because scheduling is too complex, and up to 50 percent of patients never even make it to their follow-up care.
These numbers aren’t operational glitches. They represent signs of a system that’s gotten smarter but not better. This is a design failure that is costing lives.
The industry has thrown tech at the problem, consolidated, and invested in every which way. But we haven’t fundamentally rethought how care is designed, delivered, or sustained. And until we do that, no amount of technology will restore what healthcare has lost: its humanity. We’re fragmented, overloaded, and frankly unsustainable.
Despite billions being invested, healthcare isn’t moving forward but is spinning its wheels. Medicare payments have declined 33 percent (adjusted for inflation) while operating costs have climbed 54 percent, according to the American Medical Association. More than 70 percent of healthcare leaders report their technology investments haven’t delivered cost savings, an Ernst & Young pulse survey reports. And as of January 2024, Physicians Advocacy Institute announced that 77 percent of U.S. physicians are employed by hospitals or corporate entities, yet access, affordability, and quality of care remain elusive.
We’ve centralized the infrastructure but fragmented the experience. Technology on its own hasn’t delivered, and neither has scale. The people inside the system – clinicians, care teams, and patients – are left shouldering the weight.
Lifting the burden off of healthcare staff
There is another path. Shift your mindset from tools to journeys for better outcomes. Much of healthcare innovation has been reactive, focused on plugging holes with point solutions. The result? Fragmentation, burnout, and missed opportunities. When you’re using a dozen different “best-in-class” vendors to fix a dozen problems, you’re not solving anything, you’re just creating more friction. What’s needed now is not more tech, it’s a different architecture: a platform that integrates care across the entire journey and stays accountable for the outcomes it promises. There is a way to fix healthcare.
The healthcare of tomorrow
Getting there means confronting where we are today: a system overloaded by fragmentation and inertia. We can’t just fix the broken pieces, we need to rethink how they all fit together.
Every friction point is also an opportunity to unlock momentum and realize the compounding value of a system where care is enabled, not obstructed. Here are seven ways we can do this:
- Patient scheduling that overcomes fragmented systems and access friction
- Clinical documentation that works for clinicians with multiple workflow options including including ambient scribing
- Diagnoses that are proactive, not pieced together
- Referrals and prior authorizations that are processed without delays or denials
- Financial clearance that doesn’t blindside patients at check-in
- Inbox management including incessant portal messages that gives clinicians back their evenings
- Follow-up care that is seamless, coordinated, and continuous
These aren’t isolated improvements. They build on each other, turning friction into flow and creating a patient experience that delivers both trust and outcomes.
The future is care enablement
Healthcare doesn’t need another tool. It requires a new model that puts people back at the center and helps organizations grow and sustain. Care enablement is that model. It’s not just a product or a platform. It’s a philosophy that brings together human connection, intelligent automation, and operational discipline across the entire care journey. It empowers clinicians and care teams with time and purpose. It surrounds patients with care that feels connected and personal. It gives healthcare leaders a clear path to scale with efficiency, visibility, and lasting impact. Care enablement is a movement and a mandate. It’s the future we’re building together. Because the future of healthcare isn’t just smart, it’s human.
Photo: rudall30, Getty Images
This post appears through the MedCity Influencers program. Anyone can publish their perspective on business and innovation in healthcare on MedCity News through MedCity Influencers. Click here to find out how.