What Will Be the Biggest Disruption in Health Care?
Will the biggest disruption in health care be an Internet-based health care industry? We already know that more consumers get answers to their health care questions on a daily basis from the Internet than from their doctors. But do we think that online tools will evolve enough to allow consumers to organize and make sense of that information without trained professionals?
Will the trend toward “convenience care” (pharmacy- or mall-based walk-in clinics) have the greatest impact on how providers organize care delivery? Will they need to re-think the way they practice medicine to meet new consumer expectations?
Maybe CMS’s requirement that hospitals begin publicly reporting patient experience data in 2008 will forever change how hospital view patient-centered care. Will hospitals finally find that being truly patient-centered has a business ROI?
Will consumer control over their own health information via personal health records (PHRs) alter the historical information asymmetry and allow them to control their own health care lives? What needs to be done to make sure that PHRs actually fulfill their potential as a disruptive force given that personal health data availability by itself will have a marginal impact?
Will the evolution of electronic health records (EHRs) and a robust interoperable health information exchange dramatically change health care by increasing connectivity among systems, providers, and others? Or, will we just create a process for transferring 1’s and 0’s on top of poor models of health care delivery?
Will the boom in biomonitoring/wireless devices (the so-called “healthcare unbound” space) revolutionize health care by allowing consumers to access the health care they need anytime, anywhere, and any way they want it?
Maybe the answer lies in more ubiquitous technologies. Could expanded use of cell phones and the application of tailored automated telephony allow us to reach a broader audience more conveniently, thus increasing the likelihood that average consumers will be more activated about their health care needs?
Can we more effectively engage consumers in better managing their own health by learning from Hollywood or video games about how to draw people in through entertainment? By doing so, can we make health care “fun” or at least truly engaging?
Can we find new payment structures to eliminate the perverse incentives that plague our current health care delivery system? Or, will people find ways to game any new system we design…or will entrenched interests simply prevent new systems from coming into fruition?
Is there any hope at all for finding a way to cover the growing number of uninsured in the country given the politically changed environment in Washington?
What is the role of information therapy (Ix) in each of these potentially disruptive forces?
Which of these developments will have the biggest impact on health care? Beyond that, will any of them actually change a system that has so many challenges and problems?
Many of these questions will be tackled at our upcoming Ix conference October 8-10 in Park City (see http://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Info/Agenda.aspx?e=f586de48-3d6e-4064-8543-1c7037b58890 for the full conference agenda). I hope you’ll join us.
–Josh
September 5, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Yes, yes, yes and most of all yes to “Will the boom in biomonitoring/wireless devices (the so-called “healthcare unbound” space) revolutionize health care by allowing consumers to access the health care they need anytime, anywhere, and any way they want it?”
Today’s cell phones have evolved into multi-dimensional personal electronics devices handling scheduling, voice and text communications, entertainment, web access and on and on…not to mention photography. All the technical elements are present for users to effectively use today’s devices to seek healthcare information they need, store it and view it later if necessary, contact their provider for additional “access” be it more information, an appointment, or even an e-visit and more. It’s not a stretch to imagine these same folks maintaining a PHR file in standard CDR or CCR format that can be transmitted over the net or bluetooth uploaded to a provider’s system in an office setting. I think you probably know that overseas, particularly in Asia, their culture is farther along than we are on this evolutionary curve, but we’ve been known to come from behind…with a vengence.
September 6, 2007 at 2:54 pm
Mike,
You make some great additional points. Why is the US so far behind other countries in mobile phone technology and functionality? It appears that some innovative tech companies are developing tools to make use of CCR and other data standards to allow for much greater PHR mobility and access.
The other thing about mobile phones is that opportunity to break down some of the digital divide. Cell phones are more prevalent than computers, and may be becoming the standard communication vehicle of choice for lower SES populations. According to the CDC, 22% of the poorest adults had only cell phones, double the rate for those who are not poor.
–Josh