The healthcare industry is facing major demographic changes that will dramatically impact which services are needed and how they are delivered. As Millennials, Generation X, and Baby Boomers enter new life stages at the same time, there are simultaneous demands for lower cost, convenient care and better management of chronic illness and outcomes. Concurrent with these population changes are such market factors as the growing needs to quantify value, align with consumer access preferences, and respond to the ever-present threat of technology disruption.
As healthcare organizations seek to put the consumer at the center of healthcare decision-making, here are some key considerations:
- Start serving different consumers in different ways, rather than taking aone-size-fits-allapproach.
- Undertake fundamental value-enhancement programs to identify where spending leads to real value and where it does not.
- Keep an eye toward creating one layered delivery network through which patients can move seamlessly as they age and their needs evolve.
- Forge strategic partnerships with technology disruptors -- from integrators for patient/program matching, to reimbursable health apps and tools, to predictive and behavioral analytics providers.
The need for this shift is very real. The degree to which healthcare organizations move toward an omni-channel approach to connecting with healthcare consumers and meeting their needs will, to a great extent, determine whether or not they become the leaders in a new economy.
