While the move to consumerism in healthcare is an imminent, fast-paced change leaders are preparing for, Franklin, Tenn.-based Community Health Systems CEO Wayne Smith said it will take two to three years to see the impact of the transition, reports the Nashville Business Journal.
Mr. Smith revealed his thoughts Thursday as he moderated a discussion on pressing healthcare industry topics at the Nashville Health Care Council's annual Wall Street's View on Prospects for the Health Care Industry luncheon.
"Everybody in healthcare is talking about consumerism, connectivity and how we can do a better job in that respect," said Mr. Smith, according to the Nashville Business Journal. "It may be moving relatively fast but it will take a while for it to really kick in. It may be two or three years before [we] see the impact of all that."
Easier access to healthcare information and emerging technologies such as telemedicine may speed up the trend of consumerism, according to panelist Joshua Raskin, senior research analyst at Nephron Research.
Another panelist, investment banking company Credit Suisse's Managing Director A.J. Rice, spoke about how deals such as the potential CVS Health and Aetna merger reveal the push toward consumerism. Further, he explained industry leaders are just now beginning to feel the consumerism trend and are deciding how to react.
"What we're told is the rate of increase [of consumerism] is moderating on the penetration of high-deductible plans," Mr. Rice said. "In addition to that, it probably takes you a year or two to figure out how to maximize that benefit and that's still playing through the system, I think."
While lower hospital admissions due to high-deductible health plans and evolving telemedicine technologies have healthcare leaders scrambling, the entire panel agreed an aging baby boomer generation, low unemployment and stabilization of the ACA give traditional care providers reason for optimism.