![]() Unfortunately, that has not happened to a U.S. And, if it’s the latter, the companies with foresight and discipline pivot to ensure they are an essential part of a new tomorrow. In healthcare, like any industry in transition, you are either a disruptor or you are disrupted. The survey also found that “at least half of Americans see potential savings on medical expenses as an incentive to look beyond solely physician-credentialed providers.” And, all of this has plenty of people in the industry worried – as a survey of health tech experts found that more than half of respondents said Amazon would be “the biggest threat to health systems’ core business” by the end of this year. One survey found that more than 60% of Americans “envision most primary care services being provided at pharmacies, retail clinics and/or pharmacy clinics instead of going to a Primary Care Provider (PCP),” with 70% of Millennials believing that will be the case. ![]() The winds of change that started long ago are here to stay. It remains to be seen where all this disruption ultimately leads us, but one thing is certain. Rasu Shrestha of Atrium’s parent company, Advocate Health, rightly said: “this transition that happens from discharging a patient from a hospital to the void of their home is the dark side of the moon: It's disconnected, confusing, expensive.” Their goal is to ensure seamless coordination of care, something that is sorely lacking in today’s fragmented system. In addition, Best Buy just struck a deal with Atrium Health to bring certain aspects of hospital care to people’s homes with wearable devices that enable care teams to monitor patient vital signs remotely. Walmart, which currently operates 32 health centers that deliver both primary and urgent care at an affordable price, plans to nearly double that number by 2024. Also looking to expand its primary care footprint, CVS Health just announced plans to buy Oak Street Health. Just this year alone, we have seen a flurry of activity from players who continue their foray to disrupt traditional healthcare. Retailers like Amazon are responding to the dysfunction by increasingly turning up the competition volume another notch. And, as I explain in my last column, this is not only forcing these medical “gatekeepers” to exit a once noble profession, but also disincentivizing future doctors from entering the primary care field. One of the major reasons for the decline in primary care has been downward reimbursement pressure, which penalizes PCPs from doing their jobs properly – which includes taking the time to understand each patient’s needs and to administer the proper treatment at the right time and in the right way.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |