• by Puja Kartan , October 16, 2018

While it's easy to write off the healthcare industry as digitally lagging because it is overly complex, enormously costly, and constrained by regulation, its pace of change is actually evolving rapidly. 

In the past 12 months, the speed of disruption has escalated quickly where a land grab is being fought by both large and small players.

So, how should healthcare companies adjust to avoid irrelevance?

The Value of Value-based Care

As the market shifts away from fee for service, it becomes harder to understand all the implications of the new value-based system. Organizations that deliver the most value to the industry will be those that provide comprehensive solutions to pressing problems, not just enhanced products or services.

Oscar, for example, has deviated from a traditional health insurance company to now offer services that fall into the provider space, such as the ability to speak with a nurse concierge or to video chat with a physician for free, which can help reduce the number of unnecessary primary care or ER visits.

Ever-rising Consumer Expectations

Customer expectations in healthcare are not set by experiences in healthcare, but by expectations in retail, CPG, travel, etc.  These segments understand the long-term benefits of exceeding customer expectations through engagement and retention, attracting high-value customers, and investing in the long-term experience dividend of those they serve.

Of course we can’t talk about rising consumer expectations in healthcare without touching on the three big elephants in the room: Apple, Google and Amazon.

They have each identified a road in and are quickly making moves in the healthcare space.

Let’s start with Apple. From its wellness apps, to the capabilities of the newest Apple Watch, it has set out to revolutionize healthcare by gathering data that can detect and diagnose critical conditions

Google, on the other hand, focuses on analyzing the data. It has been wading in the healthcare waters for some time, leveraging Google Cloud to facilitate the sharing of medical images and developing a digital contact lens to help regulate blood sugar.

And, lastly, we come to Amazon.  Amazon is here to fulfill the data.  With the recent announcement of Amazon/JP Morgan Chase/ Berkshire Hathaway's move into the pharmacy fulfillment space, it’s clear that they see the opportunity to leverage their size and utilize technology to more effectively serve customers and drive down costs.

Growth of Emerging Technologies

As wearables, predictive analytics, AI, and other forms of new technology continue to gain traction in healthcare, organizations must continue to invest or risk becoming too irrelevant to survive -- or too inefficient to operate. These technologies won’t replace humans, but rather allow them to make data-informed decisions, track progress and outcomes, better record information, and drive efficiencies in their workflows.

Leaders at healthcare organizations must embrace the power of digital to drive growth -- or they’ll end up losing out to those who can move faster and better meet customer needs.