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2021 will continue to test human resilience

The healthcare industry and the entire world have seen a lot of uncertainty in the past one year, due to COVID-19 pandemic. As of today, we all know that the crisis is far from over and even when it is over, the implications of this crisis will linger on for a while. We, as healthcare professionals have the responsibility to get the world out of this and be prepared for any future pandemics or crisis situations.

Taking the positives with us and learning from our mistakes of past year, we need to prepare a roadmap for 2021. In my opinion the focus points to work upon can be:
C – Communicate and support;
O – Overcome obstacles and fear;
V – Focus on vital requirements;
I – Be independent and self-sufficient; and
D – Declutter and simplify.

The first focus point has to be to communicate and provide support to those who are bearing the brunt of the pandemic. They are our healthcare workers, sanitation workers, support system workers, government and private agency workers who fight with the common enemy of ignorance, fear, lack of knowledge of this novel disease. Healthcare communication has always been an important but undervalued part for all stakeholders. And in extraordinary situations like this, a clear, concise, correct and compassionate communication is more important than ever.

The second focus point is to overcome obstacles and find innovative ways to fight the pandemic. In the quest for survival, we have to explore our hidden strengths and qualities and allow our teams to work with freedom, find new ideas, and implement new processes. This shall help in overcoming the problems and reducing the burden of risk. Till now we have seen results of innovation in development of low-cost ventilators, research and development of vaccines, developing infrastructure of healthcare facilities with oxygen supplies, managing real time data of health through mobile applications, manufacturing of personal protective equipment, sanitizers and many more. In 2021 we have to consolidate on them and keep on learning new ways in managing healthcare.

The third focus point is to work on vital components, which are absolutely necessary for survival, for patient management, and for organization. While working under limited resources we have to focus on optimal utilization and correct reach. Reduction in wastage of resources, providing vital resources and helping in developing new ones will be crucial in this year.

The fourth focus point is to become independent and self-sufficient. We have to look for alternatives to make things easier and reduce the supply chain concerns. To become self-sufficient, we have to look for answers to modify our routine practices and adapt to new environment, to cushion the impact of pandemic restrictions and limitations. Strengthening of local supply chain and exploring areas for vertical integrations will be of vital importance.

The last and most important focus of 2021 has to be to declutter and simplify things. We all are burdened with overload of information and we have to strategically filter the timely and correct information for decision making. To overcome the information overload, we need to stop sharing unauthentic information, spurious thoughts and hearsays. We have to declutter our communication and our workplaces, simplify things for everyone so that the correct message reaches to all the levels of healthcare hierarchy. From policy making level to the final implementation level, simple, correct, timely information will solve a lot of problems. We can work on simplifying methods, developing simple healthcare delivery models and have easy to understand goals.

In my opinion 2021 will continue to test human resilience. It will test how strong we are as individuals, as teams, as leaders and how strong is our healthcare delivery system. The roadmap for 2021 is to be united, simplify and strengthen our healthcare delivery system.

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