2018 has been a year of rapid development and change for the Australian healthcare sector. With healthcare faring well in a number of State Budgets, and the Federal Budget announced earlier this year, we’re seeing billions of dollars injected into designing, developing and modernising healthcare nation-wide.

With the Government set to deliver more than $30 billion in additional public hospital funding under a five-year National Health Agreement, Australia is set to see a boom in hospital infrastructure development with funding increasing for every state and territory.

Already we’ve seen new developments confirmed in Northern NSW with the $583 new Tweed Valley Hospital and the recent announcement of the $1.5 billion new hospital in the booming suburb of Footscray in Melbourne.

Despite these exciting developments, the year has seen a number of hospital developments struggle. Designing, developing and operating new health facilities is a complex, time consuming and costly task that requires effective stakeholder engagement, communication and planning. The media scrutiny surrounding the recent the opening of the New Northern Beaches Hospital for example shows that the journey does not end when a new facility is built, and that having a concrete operating and services model is critical.

On the technology front 2018 has been an interesting year - with advancements in robotics, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented and Virtual Reality, and wearable devices providing new care opportunities, especially for aging and rural populations.

Despite these exciting developments, the year has not been without its challenges. With the My Health Record initiative dominating headlines, cyber security and data privacy have taken centre stage as key issues for healthcare leaders and Government to address now and in the years to come.

While infrastructure projects and technological advancements will continue to revolutionise care delivery, patient experience and traditional workflows, with 2018 coming to a close what new trends are set to shape healthcare in 2019 and beyond?

To understand and answer this question, ahead of the 9^th Annual Australian Healthcare Week Summit 2019, we surveyed 116 Australian and New Zealand healthcare professionals from a cross-section of the industry, to find out what they think the major are the innovations, challenges and opportunities that will fundamentally transform healthcare in the coming years.

The mega trends explored in this report include:

·         Infrastructure Investments

·         Digital Transformation

·         Patient Experience

·         Culture Change and Workforce Optimisation

·         Aging Populations 

With so much innovation and transformation happening at the moment it’s certainly an exciting time to be working in the healthcare space and we hope you enjoy the research!

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT NOW!