Health system executives’ primary concerns shift to focus on consumers

Of the 209 C-suite executives who responded to the survey, nearly half — 47 percent — of executives indicated they were extremely interested in addressing the challenge of increasing consumer expectations regarding healthcare services. Additionally, 45 percent said they were very interested in identifying patient engagement strategies — a four percentage point increase from The Advisory Board Company’s 2015 survey.

“Health systems are facing a push toward consumerization, fueled by more patient financial accountability, as well as the push to population heath and managing the total cost of care,” said Lisa Bielamowicz, MD, CMO and executive director of research and insights at The Advisory Board Company. “Health systems are seeking strategies that bring together these potentially conflicting market forces.”

Here are the top five concerns for hospital and health system executives in 2016, as indicated by survey responses.

1. Engaging physicians in minimizing clinical variation (53 percent)
2. Redesigning health system services for population health (52 percent)
3. Meeting rising consumer expectations for service (47 percent)
4. Patient engagement strategies (45 percent)
5. Controlling avoidable utilization (44 percent)                   

Research from The Advisory Board Company found patient satisfaction can be significantly impacted when patients are provided with inaccurate price estimates. According to the survey, 31 percent of hospital and health system executives expressed extreme interest in addressing this issue and developing consumer-focused pricing strategies.  

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