Shaping Healthcare’s Future: Navigating Policy, Technology, and Advocacy in 2025

Long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) providers continue to face increasing pressure and persistent challenges brought on by labor shortages and mounting regulatory mandates. Yet, with a thoughtful balance of policy adaptation, industry advocacy, and innovative technology, there is immense potential to create a more sustainable and transparent healthcare system.

I believe the road ahead is one of opportunities.

By leveraging data-driven tools and collaborating closely with policymakers, healthcare leaders can create strategies that reduce operational burdens, enhance care delivery, and ultimately improve outcomes for patients in 2025 — all in the face of ongoing industry shifts. 

Addressing the Staffing Crisis Through Innovation

While the federal staffing mandate is expected to be rescinded, addressing the workforce challenges in LTPAC remains a critical priority. Providers must still contend with the realities of limited caregiver availability and growing operational pressures.

Simply increasing staff levels won’t resolve these deeper issues, and it certainly won’t lead to a better quality of care. What we need is a focus on improving collaboration across care settings through technology. Solutions that enable seamless communication and timely data sharing between hospitals and their post-acute care partners, for example, can improve care coordination and help relieve some of the pressure on staffing while enhancing patient care.

Interoperability as the Backbone of Healthcare Transformation

Without the seamless exchange of information between acute and post-acute care settings, care transitions remain fragmented, contributing to delays, errors, and higher readmission rates. Nearly 25% of Medicare beneficiaries admitted to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) are readmitted to the hospital within 30 days, further stressing providers and costing the U.S. healthcare system billions each year.

PointClickCare’s advocacy efforts push for greater federal investment in health IT to solve this fragmentation issue. This year, we’ve taken part in several delegation-related efforts, including key meetings on Capitol Hill to advocate for interoperability in healthcare. Our participation in initiatives such as the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) and our CEHRT designation further demonstrates our commitment to advancing in-the-moment data sharing. When care teams can access and share vital patient information quickly, they are better equipped to make timely, informed decisions that can directly improve patient outcomes.

Navigating the 2025’s Regulatory Landscape

Following the 2024 election, entering this period of ‘opportunity’ in 2025 and beyond, healthcare providers need to help shape the impending changes to the regulatory framework. There is optimism for a collaborative and rationalized LTPAC regulatory framework that achieves policy objectives without overburdening staff/operators with unfunded mandates and inefficient, ineffective regulation. There is hope for ‘a better way’ of regulation. Further, while the federal staffing mandate is likely to be rescinded, state governments are expected to take a more active role in shaping healthcare policy. Programs like the California Data Exchange Framework (DxF) demonstrate how states are advancing data exchange, privacy, and consent standards, creating both challenges and opportunities for providers.

This is where the intersection of technology and advocacy becomes critical. PointClickCare is working closely with policymakers to advocate for health IT incentives that will help providers invest in technology solutions that can drive productivity, streamline workflows, and enable caregivers to focus on what they do best — caring for patients.

Our collaborations with federal and state governments, as well as with organizations like the American Health Care Association, are designed to ensure that new healthcare regulations reflect the realities providers and patients face. Navigating these changes will require expanded efforts to engage policymakers at the state level, but these efforts also open doors for innovation and collaboration across the care continuum.

By advocating for policies that support HIT funding, we’re committed to shaping a healthcare system that is both sustainable and patient centric. It will be critical for our industry peers to stay engaged in these conversations to ensure policies continue to serve the needs of those on the front lines.

The Path Forward: A Call to Action for Healthcare Providers

As we close out this pivotal election year, I urge healthcare leaders to stay engaged in policy discussions and explore how technology can help meet evolving demands. By embracing technology and advocating for policies that drive smarter, data-informed decision-making, providers can better navigate the regulatory and operational pressures of 2024 and into the years ahead. At PointClickCare, we remain incredibly optimistic and provide the tools and insights necessary to weather these shifts.