CONTRIBUTOR

Laura Mueller
Essential Insights contributor, healthcare writer
Healthcare innovation. Precision care. The evolution of the community pharmacy. These were some of the biggest topics in healthcare in 2018, and unsurprisingly, the overarching themes of some of our most popular articles of the year. Overwhelmingly, our readers have been drawn to stories that provide actionable advice for how to adapt in a changing healthcare system, as well as those that provide predictions for what might be to come.
“We aim to provide insights on the most current healthcare industry topics and trends for our readers," said Stephanie Pavol, editor of Essential Insights and a communications manager for Cardinal Health. Everyone's looking for “what's next" in healthcare, she added, so prediction-heavy pieces struck a chord with the Cardinal Health audience, as did articles with concrete take-aways that readers could use to improve their own practices.
“I think in this age of changing reimbursements and cost pressures that healthcare leaders are looking for how to manage their organizations more efficiently," Pavol added. And with Essential Insights, Cardinal Health sought to do their part to help readers make better informed decisions.
So what articles made the biggest impact in 2018? Here are the top five.
1. Our predictions: Five ways healthcare innovation will move forward in 2018
February 5, 2018
Kristina Redgrave, innovation solutions manager at Fuse by Cardinal Health, lent her expertise for a piece on where healthcare might be heading in 2018—and beyond. Her observations included the following trends:
- artificial intelligence as a solution for the waning healthcare workforce
- major mergers among health systems and payer groups, and
- senior-centric advancements designed to serve our aging population.
The piece also touched on two innovations that have made frequent appearances in Essential Insights articles this year: data analytics and blockchain technology.
2. Three key take-aways from our latest OR supply chain research
April 2, 2018
In response to the Cardinal Health supply chain survey, which found that 40 percent of healthcare providers have had to cancel surgeries due to a lack of supplies, we tackled what health systems need to know in order to optimize and modernize their Operating Room (OR) supply chains. One surprising takeaway was that clinicians want a lot more input in inventory management decisions than they currently have. But they also want it to be more efficient. If OR physicians and supply chain leaders work together and with real-time data, patient care and bottom line costs could realize significant benefits.
3. Oncologists share aspirations and hesitations for precision medicine in new research
June 28, 2018
4. More than 200 oncologists weigh in on CAR-T cell therapy, biosimilars and AML therapies
February 16, 2018
5. 2017 NCPA Digest: A roadmap for independent community pharmacies
November 17, 2017
Thank you to all of our readers for sharing your passion with us about the big conversations taking place in healthcare. We look forward to another year of providing you with more interesting and actionable stories that not only inform your practice of healthcare but advance the dialogue among all participants in this vital and fast-changing industry.