If anything, 2011 is shaping up to be a year of considerable change for the healthcare industry. With the passage last year of the healthcare reform legislation followed by on-going legal challenges to certain aspects of the law, many in the healthcare field remain on the edge of their seats in anticipation of what is next.
While some healthcare organizations will take a wait and see approach, others are moving ahead to address and effectively manage many of the opportunities the law will both provide and mandate. Which group does your organization fall in?
According to The Economist, 2011 will spark a five-year boom in IT spending for the healthcare industry. Several consulting groups are estimating that hospitals will have to spend $30 billion or $100,000 per bed to comply with the new rules – many of which will not be reimbursed by government subsidies.
It is also estimated that healthcare payers may spend more to comply with the new law than they did to prepare for the Y2K software issue over ten years ago.
Some experts are predicting an implosion of hospitals and their finances and infrastructures. The Economist reports that many hospitals will enter a financial crisis on the scale of the subprime mortgage meltdown. The article reports that hospitals in recent years have acquired many independent physician practices, promising to preserve salaries and cover the costs of migrating to electronic medical records (EMRs).
These factors, among others, could put an unbearable strain on hospital finances.
While some are predicting doom and gloom, others are seeing a boom for the industry. A Chicago Tribune article (Dec. 20, 2010) noted that the nation could see a year of accelerated hospital mergers, partnerships and expansions. The article noted that hospitals and health facilities are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on buildings, partnerships and something relatively new to our industry – pro-active marketing - to help attract the tens of millions of new patients.
This marketing concept, along with EMRs and stand-alone registration kiosks, have the potential to change the business model of many hospital systems as they try to provide the same level of technology services consumers are accustomed to from other industries such as finance and retail. Does your hospital or physician network have an app for scheduling appointments or notifying a patient that their test results are in? Can your systems send reminders to a patient’s Facebook page or Twitter account?
At the end of the day, whether you believe in the implosion theory or happier times for the industry, it comes down to the effective management of data for the millions of new patients that will enter the system.
Yes, new buildings and equipment will be needed, but it cannot come at the expense of the data management and technology infrastructure. There will have to be an effective and deliberate balancing of facility and data management. Treating the patient at the most opportune time will be just as essential as providing the right information at the right time in the patient’s lifecycle.
This “intelligence in an instant“ will become more important for all parties throughout 2011 as they search for ways to maximize benefits and control costs.
Jim Bohnsack is vice president of TransUnion Healthcare.