The Northern Colorado (NOCO) Healthcare in Your Future event featured regional leaders in care delivery, health services, training, and medical technologies. This yearly event offers stakeholders an opportunity to learn about trends in the industry, emerging needs, and technological innovations. The shortage of talent, particularly nurses and doctors, was the central theme of this year’s event.

I was impressed by various presentations, including one on COVID, Workforce Changes, and Future Strategy by Dr. Angela M. Mill, Chief Medical Officer at North Colorado Medical Center. Dr. Mill described in painful detail how Covid affected her facility and its workers. Her concerns over the loss of experienced clinical staff, particularly nurses, should worry us all. A projected shortfall of two million nurses over the next few years and worsening doctor shortages highlighted the challenges providers are currently facing and will be facing in the years ahead.

Nikki Caputo, Senior Directory, Experience and Innovation at UCHealth discussed the use of Conversational AI in Healthcare to improve communications and patient engagement. Shawna Hochnadel MSN, RN-BC, CNOR, Nursing Informatics Program Director at Banner Health described various initiatives employing advanced technologies to improve workflows, support decision-making, and reduce nurse documentation burden.

There is a bright side to the challenges created by clinician shortages and the ongoing Covid pandemic. Emerging clinical technologies are poised to revolutionize care delivery and reduce overhead costs and bureaucratic burdens. I have used, evaluated, and written extensively about innovative medical technologies over the past two and a half years, including @Biobeat’s revolutionary cuffless blood pressure and cardiovascular sensors. Innovative solutions, when thoughtfully integrated into clinical processes, protocols, and decision-making, can help providers cope with emerging challenges, reduce costs, and deliver more compelling patient value.