Key thought:
• Change is the new motif in the healthcare industry. Technology and market forces appear to be defining our new era more than politics.
I had the pleasure of participating at Becker’s Hospital Review CEO/CFO Roundtable in Chicago this week. While it’s great to hear form top leaders in the country in this intimate setting, the casual discussion both at the sessions and in the hallways made clear some trends that will define our future.
• Telemedicine, online booking and instant appointments are all reflections of our electronic era, compatible with transformations in other industries such as retail, the service industry and the airlines.
• The quest for remote diagnostics, monitoring and wearable technology continues in order to support virtual physician or nurse visits.
• Millennials are not so different from their baby boomer parents regarding high levels of education, talent, and expectations of others.
• There is strong emphasis on the patient experience, including efficient, pleasant, and coordinated point of service care. Patient satisfaction goes well beyond the qualifications of the physician and the surgical outcome.
• Competition is increasingly fierce, not just driving consolidation with horizontal integration, but creating new (sometimes experimental) partnerships in vertical integration. This includes insurers and large employers sharing risk with designated health systems.
• Big data with predictive analytics makes use of patient information and practitioner behavior using the electronic health record. Scaled to a health system, the numbers of encounters and variables are staggering. In addition to insurers adding to their actuarial data, predictive analytics can be used to target population health initiatives.
• Real time performance monitoring promises to increase system coordination and efficiency between locations and individual providers. This includes everything from health system facilities and workforce activity to patient throughput.
There’s a strong synergy between workforce engagement and patient satisfaction. Interestingly, Theo Epstein, General Manager of the Cubs talked about initiatives in the post-“Moneyball” era where every team uses predictive analytics. He focused on “growing” the players, and building a stronger team culture to generate a competitive advantage. At this time when loyalties are diminishing, change is good.
This column is part of a series devoted to clarifying and enhancing the physician-health system relationship. Dr. Ken Altman is Chief of Otolaryngology at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, TX. He is also Secretary/Treasurer of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – HNS, and past-President of the American Laryngological Association.