Barry Ostrowsky, CEO of West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health, said the greatest change in the healthcare industry won't come from politics, but from evolving technologies, the Asbury Park Press reports.
Officials at RWJBarnabas Health — New Jersey's largest private employer, boasting 33,000 employees and 9,000 physicians — are bracing to lead their organization through potential changes to the ACA, among other aspects of healthcare reform under the Trump administration. However, as the tech revolution hits industries across the world, Mr. Ostrowsky has begun to consider its role in healthcare.
"Forget policy coming frankly from legislators and chief executives of government," he said, according to the Asbury Park Press. "The thinking that goes into that kind of technological creativity is going to change all kinds of industries, and certainly ours."
As an example, Mr. Ostrowsky noted recent estimates say 95 percent of all cars will be driverless or electric by 2030.
"I think the biggest displacing dynamic for us is unlikely to be policy made by government, but dynamics created by technology and a whole different perspective on life, whether it's autonomous cars, or video consultations," he told the Asbury Park Press. "I can stay in my house and get a meaningful consultation with a physician, that's better for me in so many ways. But it certainly takes the pressure off building new physician offices, taken to its extreme."