Healthcare providers must adapt and change to the evolving industry climate, taking into consideration healthcare consumerization and the evolution of risk, which is shifting from payers to providers, according to an article from Strategy+Business.
Patients now get more control and choice, and play a more active role in determining their care, creating a major challenge for organizations that have not yet developed consumer capabilities, according to authors Minoo Javanmardian and Joyjit Saha Choudhury. Hospitals will profit if they can manage risk by switching care delivery models toward bundled payments, accountable care organizations and other quality-centered initiatives, the authors write.
Authors list four specific and imperative strategies for providers to succeed in this new climate:
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Determine operation focus. Health systems and hospitals must identify how they want to compete in the market, whether it be as a high-volume, lost-cost institution, or excellence in a niche market, with higher cost specialty care.
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Reduce cost of care. Hospitals must maintain quality standards while innovating new ways to cut costs by roughly 20 percent to 25 percent in the clinical and administrative sectors.
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Create patient-centered care models. In a quality-driven market, patient experience is crucial. Providers should consider bundled payments and population management with this in mind--which mean changes including better outpatient facilities and hospital integration.
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Manage the transition. It's finally difficult to switch from fee-for-service models to quality care models, the authors write. However, it'is up to hospital leadership to strike the proper balance between both approaches and shift the balance over time, and maintain a financially stable and viable environment.
The authors suggest hospital and payers acknowledge that telecom players, data mining companies and consumer good makers are real compeitiors that pose a genuine threat. Most importantly authors encourage providers to "disrupt or be disrupted"--change on their own terms, or transform based on threats from competitors.
To learn more:
- here's the article