The next big disruptor transforming healthcare isn't a retailer, tech giant or payer. It's not private equity or regulators. It's a force familiar to hospital C-suites, and underappreciated for years: patients.
C-suite executives from across the U.S. may think they've developed patient centric models and kept the patient's best interests at heart, the way patients want to interact with healthcare is changing rapidly and instead of waiting for local institutions to catch up, they will find other options.
"One of the biggest disruptors in healthcare will be the increasing ability and demand for consumers to access care anywhere, any time," said Roxanna Gapstur, PhD, RN, president and CEO of WellSpan Health in York, Pa. "Although many health systems have created options like virtual care and urgent care, there hasn't been a strong enough focus on where and how patients want or need to consume care while ensuring the access is 24/7."
Dr. Gapstur said creating a care continuum outside of bricks-and-mortar hospitals and clinics easy for patients to navigate will be necessary in the coming years. She is preparing for the transformation by leveraging people, processes and technology to reimagine the care continuum, including the MyWellSpan patient portal and other virtual care capabilities. WellSpan's average daily census for home health programs is 1,400 patients, similar to the hospitals' daily census.
WellSpan has around 1,700 admissions to its hospital at home program, and remains committed to remote patient monitoring to keep patients at home.
"By focusing on this anywhere, anytime continuum of care, we are aiming to deliver affordable care anywhere, ensuring we adapt to and meet evolving consumer expectations," she told Becker's.
Hospitals and health systems that don't evolve to meet consumer expectations may see a decline in patient engagement over as other hospitals and new entrants step up.
"The next generation of healthcare consumers are demanding a better patient experience," said John Mallia, interim CFO of Arnot Health in Elmira, N.Y. "Competition from tech companies and retailers will increasingly peel off patients and change referral patterns from traditional providers. Not all entrants will stay in, as we have seen already, but those that will are the ones who will tap into the demand for access, experience, value and perhaps most of all, convenience."
Investing in digital platforms is a good start, said Mr. Mallia, but doesn't go far enough. Arnot is also investing in people, workflow redesign and end-to-end technology to increase patient "stickiness" and deliver a better experience throughout the care continuum.
"This includes minimizing the time to appointment and expediting patient throughput at our sites of care, creating a safe and welcoming physical environment, ensuring prompt and focused clinical follow-up, and implementing a seamless and fully integrated revenue cycle," he said.
Ryan Younger, vice president of marketing at Virtua Health in Marlton, N.J., also sees healthcare consumers as among the biggest disruptors in the industry today.
"Consumers are impacting technology investment, care models, data from adoption of wearables, role as payers, demand for personalization and privacy, equity and so much more," he said. "At Virtua Health, consumers have been one of the three strategic imperatives for the last six consecutive years. We invest in market research to understand their experiences, perceptions, values and behaviors."
Mr. Young said Virtua is continuing to evolve it's "Here for Good" brand, care delivery system and culture to build trust with consumers based on the data received and changing market dynamics. MaineHealth is taking a similar approach.
"Our patients will continue to find new ways to seek and consume healthcare services," said Omar Hasan, MD, chief quality officer of MaineHealth in Portland. "We will need to continue to understand new consumer behaviors and evolve our delivery models to meet demand. We are responding by stepping up market research, iteratively designing digital healthcare solutions and piloting programs on a smaller scale, to test and adopt design features, before scaling systemwide."
C-suite executives see patients and healthcare consumers continuing to play a big role in health system transformation and care delivery in the future.
"As consumerism increasingly influences medicine, patient expectations for better experiences will rise sharply," said Mara Nitu, MD, chief medical officer of Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. "I anticipate that the most impactful disruptors will be digital solutions that enhance the patient experience, likely through improved coordination of care. To stay competitive in the evolving landscape of healthcare, our organization is proactively embracing these disruptive trends."
Dr. Nitu and her team are developing and piloting models of care to test innovative approaches to hospital at home, workforce shortages, increased quality and more.
"Our goal is to identify and scale the most effective strategies, ensuring that we contribute to sustainable healthcare solutions for the future," she said.