The future of healthcare requires a "seamless integration" of virtual and in-person care, Hackensack Meridian Health CEO Robert Garrett wrote in Fast Company.
But with all the digital advancements, health systems will also need to continue building brick and mortar to care for an aging population, he said.
"There's no question we will keep investing and developing innovations like AI, telehealth, virtual nursing, and hospital-at-home programs to provide high-quality and convenient care," he wrote in the Nov. 4 article. "But let's keep the shovels coming. In fact, we have more in the ground than at any other time in our history."
Hackensack, an 18-hospital system based in Edison, N.J., is investing $3.2 billion in infrastructure over the next several years, including to update facilities with the latest technology, like surgical robots, advanced imaging and "smart" hospital capabilities, Mr. Garrett wrote. He said one surgeon compared working in one of the new operating rooms to "driving a Ferrari."