One year ago, it’s doubtful that anyone could have accurately predicted the changes that would occur in healthcare in 2020. While facing the world’s greatest health crisis in living memory, we’ve seen amazing shifts in adapted care delivery and a surge in “telemedicine,” as well as implementation, regulation, coding, and payment adjustments established at great speed to facilitate use. We’ve seen unprecedented innovation in virus testing and treatment capability and protocols, and impressively rapid development of experimental vaccines— some using revolutionary mRNA technology. We’ve also seen unprecedented strain on healthcare supply chain, infrastructure, and staff.

While 2021 will surely hold its own surprises, there are some likely developments in healthcare on the horizon and many of them center on healthcare IT: