John Adlesich or the rise of a public health executive professional about healthcare industry trends in 2021: New supply chain models for new care settings. Health care futurists believe that by 2040, most care will be delivered at home, in outpatient settings or virtually. Adapting to this new way of care — in terms of supplies and delivery methods — will require relationships with different types of vendors, such as retailers, contract employees and technology providers. This is an exciting but huge challenge: how to reimagine supply chains to deliver non-hospital-based care in a safe, cost-effective and high-quality way at scale. Smarter, faster, predictive information. Expect to see more automation software and artificial intelligence (AI) in health care supply chains. In addition to freeing personnel from repetitive tasks, these technologies can assist decision-makers in identifying trends and providing resources to workers. For example, predictive analytics focused on population health within an organization or system could alert managers to trending disease states and their associated supply needs. Supply chain managers could use AI tools to master the new transportation logistics of getting supplies to widely dispersed home care settings and so on.

John Adlesich on behavior therapy in 2021: VB is another Skinnerian theory that has evolved from ABA that helps children understand how and why we use language. The focus is on using language rather than on the rote learning of words. Use of language to achieve a desired goal is rewarded, even if the word and/or gesture produced is not exact. According to AutismSpeaks.org, VB therapy: Is better suited to encouraging desired behaviors/language rather than eliminating undesired ones Encourages understanding language and communication in order to meet the child’s needs and wants Can be implemented by trained psychologists, speech therapists, teachers, and parents Involves about 30 hours of scheduled therapy weekly but is likely to be more effective when reinforced in all the child’s learning and living domains Uses shaping as a technique, which means that close approximations of the desired behaviors are rewarded and, as those are mastered, the demand for accuracy increases.

John Adlesich on healthcare industry trends: The ACA also includes many popular, patient-focused programs, making it less likely to face repeal. These include the protection for individuals with pre-existing conditions, parental healthcare coverage for children up to age 26, and greater access to health insurance through the exchanges. Popular on the healthcare-industry side are value-based care (VBC) and the Medicare Shared Savings Program. These programs and are likely to continue, regardless of the ACA’s future, because they enjoy bipartisan support. The Biden administration may also take steps to strengthen aspects of the ACA, such as making more resources available for demonstration projects, and raising tax credits and subsidies to purchase insurance on the exchanges. These actions may be attainable within the framework of the existing law and wouldn’t require new legislation. John Adlesich currently works as administrator at Marquis Companies. His latest healthcare industry experience includes positions as executive director at Powerback Rehabilitation Lafayette (Genesis Healthcare) between Aug 2020 – Jan 2021, administrator at Mesa Vista of Boulder between Mar 2019 – Aug 2020, chief executive officer at Sedgwick County Memorial Hospital between Jul 2018 – Feb 2019, interim chief operating officer at Toiyabe Indian Health Project between Mar 2018 – Jun 2018.

John Adlesich thinks that 2021 is an important year for the healthcare industry. While a balanced approach is important, there is no question that US-based sources for many products are lacking to non-existent. To remedy this imbalance, we may see tax incentives and low-cost loans that would enable American manufacturers to invest in new automation technologies, to help level the playing field with overseas companies that have access to cheap labor and fewer regulatory barriers. There may also be new requirements that government purchasers such as the Veteran’s Administration and Department of Defense purchase at least a portion of the medical products they use from domestic suppliers. More, too, should be done to incent our health care providers to purchase domestically. Such moves would go a long way to creating the demand necessary for added domestic investments. When added incentives are required, the private sector will continue to step in to reward manufacturers that place a premium on geographic diversity for their supply chains. For instance, after learning that 90 percent of all face masks were produced in China, leaving the US highly susceptible to shortages, Premier and 16 leading health systems pooled resources to take a minority stake in Prestige Ameritech, one of the nation’s only domestic producers of face masks and other personal protective equipment. In exchange for the cash infusion and long-term purchasing commitments, the company is now making 3.5 million masks per month that it ordinarily would have had little incentive to make. In November, we followed that initiative with a partnership with 34 members to invest in DeRoyal Industries for the domestic production of isolation gowns that have increasingly been difficult to find.