15th Annual Spok Healthcare Communications Report: Trends shaping the future of healthcare

In the 15th Annual Spok Healthcare Communications Report, you’ll gain a fresh perspective on the different motivations, concerns, strategies, and solutions shaping and driving a new era of healthcare. 

This year’s report provides context into various challenges and opportunities facing U.S. health systems and the healthcare workforce, including frontline clinical workers, back-office IT support, and executives—all seeking to streamline how they collaborate, and all unified by the mission to provide excellent patient care.

A few of the key insights included in the report:

• IT expertise advances while effective adoption trails: For the fourth consecutive year, budget constraints remain the most significant obstacle to advancing communication capabilities, increasing 15% year-over-year. Yet, there are fewer concerns around gaps in IT knowledge when adopting new solutions. This signals that health systems possess the IT expertise to adopt effective communication systems, but financial constraints and fragmented decision-making continue to prevent them from adopting enterprise-wide solutions.
• High burnout rates have reemerged: Health system staff who experienced a great deal of burnout increased by 89% this year, a shift from last year’s optimistic results. The most significant increase in technology-driven burnout is from the burdensome or increased workload of new tools.
• AI is highly desired, but hospitals must first overcome implementation complexities: Health systems are starting to see the value of various AI use cases, with 80% prioritizing AI adoption for enhanced communication, but they’re also realizing the challenges involved with expanding AI’s utility, particularly the ever-evolving regulatory landscape surrounding AI in healthcare settings.

It’s clear that most health systems are navigating a unique push-pull moment, where they understand and acknowledge the value of new communication tools and technologies, but they continue to face barriers that derail any significant advancements. 

However, despite these challenges, the first step in communication transformation is understanding the value in working towards a future state—and it’s clear that most health systems have taken that critical step. 

Download this year’s report to see insights into:  

• Healthcare communication challenges, including the state of security and workforce burnout 
• The evolution of healthcare communication devices 
• The future of healthcare communications, including AI and other new IT communication considerations