The Changing Face of Healthcare

On July 30, Ken Weixel, senior partner for Deloitte’s Health Sciences & Government Industry Practice, presented an update on health reform, results from Deloitte’s 2009 Survey of Health Care Consumers and 7 mega-trends for healthcare. Here are some highlights:

 

As marketers, we need to monitor health reform as it continues to evolve.

  • Growth  in healthcare costs can’t continue on the same trajectory
  • While other sectors have seen recent job decline, healthcare has increased
  • Access is a key issue
  • Healthcare should be viewed as a “federation of fragmented interests” and not a system
  • The President is looking to reduce costs and cover everyone – everything is on the table – key industry players seem willing to contain costs
  • Reform likely to focus on 4 areas: healthcare information technology, comparative effectiveness, coordination of care, and consumerism
  • Impact of reform will vary by sector
  • Spending will be required early, but returns will not be seen until later

 

We need to shift our audience perspective from “patients” to “consumers.”

  • Consumers believe the system isn’t working well (38% give it a “D” of “F”) and over half (52%) believe it wastes a lot of money
  • Consumers differentiate providers and plans based on quality
  • Consumers want coaching from their physicians and nurses to help deal with their health problems
  • The majority of consumers don’t readily acknowledge a trusted source for information about treatment cost
  • Consumers believe quality varies by physician
  • More consumers are comparing providers before selecting one
  • Some patients will travel outside of their local area to save money or if their doctor recommends it
  • Holistic approaches are becoming more popular

 

As we develop marketing plans, consider 7 mega-trends that are impacting healthcare.

  1. Data Becomes Information: transparency is inevitable and health care organizations need to develop capabilities that will allow them to define and serve markets of one
  2. Non-traditional Alliances: tomorrow’s competition will look different than today’s – health care organizations need to expand their definition of the products and services they can deliver to customers.
  3. Health Care Unbound: as care models evolve, health care organizations must reevaluate their role and how and what they will provide.
  4. Consumer Branding: health care organizations need to be more consumer-centric and take control of their reputation and brand image.
  5. Wellness & Healthy Living Go Mainstream: health care organizations have an opportunity to expand the portion of the health care market they address by offering wellness & healthy living products and services.
  6. Expanding Borders: international expansion offers some health care organizations a significant opportunity to grow revenue, while building a global brand.
  7. Sustainability & Greening: health care organizations have an opportunity to reinforce their mission, create differentiated products and prepare themselves for potential changes in the cost of currently “free” resources.

 

If you attended the program and had an “a ha” moment or if something resonated with you, please share it. If you did not attend and you know of other information related to the topics that would be of interest, please post it. Let’s keep the conversation going!

 

Recognition:

Doug Bierl volunteers for the Columbus AMA chapter as the leader for the Healthcare SIG and is the Owner and Lead Consultant for Stepping-Stone Marketing Consulting (www.ConsultSteppingStone.com). He can be reached at 740-540-7145 or via email at dbierl@ConsultSteppingStone.com.

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