43% of younger South African healthcare professionals consider leaving the profession as a result of work-related stress

South African healthcare professionals rate technology as highly as work-life balance

Unlike their peers in some of the other countries surveyed, younger South African healthcare professionals believe access and availability to the latest equipment or technology (93%) is as important as work-life balance (92%) when deciding where to work, possibly due to its potential to decrease their workloads and work-related stress.

Therefore, improved technology may be one way to retain their talent and expertise, as most younger healthcare professionals in South Africa (72%) are excited about the future of their profession due to technology. 57% of younger South African healthcare professionals believe that being at the forefront of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare is important when choosing a hospital or practice in which to work. This is mirrored in their positive perceptions of AI’s potential impact; 79% believe that AI will allow them to provide patients with more accurate diagnoses, and 77% believe that it can provide them with the tools to keep patients healthy – both above the average of the 15 countries surveyed at 71% each.

Alongside advancements in AI, younger healthcare professionals in South Africa rate digital health technologies as an important tool to achieve better patient outcomes (83%), improved patients’ experiences (77%), and believe it will create more time to spend with patients (60%). This on the backdrop of younger South African healthcare professionals reporting that they have insufficient data to influence outcomes (64%) and feel that the data they have available does not lead to actionable insights (48%) – a reality exceeding experiences of those in many of the other countries surveyed.

Technology has the power to transform delivery, improve patient care, provide work satisfaction and drive value-based care. It also gives younger healthcare professionals the ability to shape future healthcare systems with care at the core.

Younger South African healthcare professionals need continuous education to help build their non-clinical skills

Across all countries surveyed, many younger healthcare professionals say their medical education did not provide them with key non-clinical skills necessary for modern healthcare. Many younger South African healthcare professionals felt not at all prepared for business administration tasks (45%) and are among the most likely of their peers across all the countries surveyed to have felt not at all prepared to drive efficiencies within their hospital or practice (42%).

In addition to limited business acumen and legacy systems, measurement practices could be contributing to the performance of the health system in South Africa. While there is a general shift towards value-based care models in healthcare systems across the world, there is limited or no knowledge of value-based care among many younger healthcare professionals across all the countries surveyed. This is just as true for younger healthcare professionals in South Africa, where only one quarter (29%) say they know a lot about the term, indicating a need to improve their understanding.

93% of younger healthcare professionals in South Africa say their hospitals or practices use volume-based measures such as number or patients seen, spend per patient, number of beds filled or number of tests ordered, rather than value-based care measures with patient outcomes at its core. Given that younger healthcare professionals will ultimately be responsible for implementing this shift from volume to value-based care, their understanding of the concept is critical.

The findings of the Future Health Index 2020 report demonstrate that we are at a crucial moment in the journey to the future of healthcare.

“The challenge of transforming healthcare lies on the shoulders of this next generation of healthcare professionals; it is imperative that we create better work-life balance, empower them with clinical and non-clinical skills, and drive autonomy in the hospital or practice where they are working which could be significantly improved by the implementation of new technology, to address the local needs and improve patient outcomes. Because the inverse is simply not an option.”

Since 2016, Philips has conducted original research to help determine the readiness of countries to address global health challenges and build efficient and effective healthcare systems. For details on the Future Health Index methodology and to access the 2020 report in its entirety, visit the Future Health Index site.