MCOL Blog

Top Eight Issues for 2008 (according to PwC)

The other day I received my copy of the "Top Eight Health Industry Issues in 2008", billed as "The third annual summary of current health industry issues by PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute."

You have to admire anyone who produces a list of top items that doesn't use the number ten. Here without further The PwC Health Research Institute list is based upon survey research, as opposed to pure thought leadership. Without further adieu, here's a summary of what they found is store for us, in terms of what we must address and that will impact us in 2008:

1) Significant changes in the way hospitals bill Medicare will create some winners and some losers.

2) Renewed focus is on the FDA’s drug safety initiatives.

3) A surge in the number of retail clinics will force states, payers, and policy makers to think about the right model for the delivery of primary care.

4) The market for individual health insurance could take off.

5) Retirees are playing a greater role in funding their healthcare coverage—whether they like it or not.

6) Big pharmaceutical companies will keep buying and collaborating with life sciences companies to stock their pipelines

7) This year, hospitals publicly report their corporate responsibility.

8) Asia is poised to be the largest pharmaceutical consumer and pharmaceutical producer in the world.

Click here to download a copy of their eight page report. 

So what's on your top whatever list?

ChangeNow4Health

Check out http://www.changenow4health.com/ . The site, funded by Humana, is geared towards stimulating health care reform through action. A central component is the three online communities including blogs where individuals are sharing best practices, brainstorming ideas, and forming solutions. The communities are focusing on:
- Helping Consumers Make Smarter Health Care Decisions
- Simplifying the Business of Health Care
- Preventing Sickness and Maintaining Health

Below are excerpts from a recent Humana press release on ChangeNow4Health:

To help create, share and incubate realistic solutions that address necessary changes to the nation’s health care system, Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has formed ChangeNow4Health, a broad, open, online community committed to improving health care through immediate action. Humana partnered with Availity, Business Health Care Group and nationally recognized health care consultant Dr. Jacque Sokolov to create this unique approach to change, where anyone interested in improving our nation’s health care system is not only welcome to share insights and ideas, but can also work towards transforming discussion into positive action.

“Our health care system is badly broken, but there are disconnected pockets of progress around the country,” said Michael B. McCallister, president and chief executive officer of Humana. “Yet because health care is such a fragmented industry, the people and organizations behind these initiatives have a hard time communicating and coming together. ChangeNow4Health is designed to be a channel that action-oriented individuals can use to step forward, exchange ideas with one another and solve problems now. It’s an online, real-time catalyst and clearinghouse for change.”

One of the key features of ChangeNow4Health is its online communities. The communities will serve as forums to share best practices and as virtual workplaces to incubate and implement solutions. There are currently three communities, each of which is moderated by a prominent health care blogger:

• Helping Consumers Make Smarter Health Care Decisions: Members of this community are working to find ways to ensure that consumers have the tools, information and desire to take responsibility for their own health. The group seeks to identify roadblocks on the way to responsible consumerism and create break through solutions.
• Simplifying the Business of Health Care: This community looks at how administrative and financial functions can be streamlined so that the health care system works more cost-effectively.
• Preventing Sickness and Maintaining Health: The goal of this community is to incubate solutions that help consumers understand the connection between better health and lower health care costs. Members will work on ways to change individual behaviors and clinical practices so the health care system can shift its focus from treatment to prevention.

According to the National Center for Policy Analysis, total spending on health care in the United States now totals $2.2 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office notes that health care spending currently accounts for 16 percent of the gross domestic product, but is projected to reach 20 percent by 2016. At the current growth rate, these figures will continue to be one of greatest pressures facing businesses and consumers in America.

“For many people, whether they’re individuals, employers, physician groups or even health care companies, the U.S. health care system is like their old car – it still runs fine, but as the years go on, it costs them more money and more things seem to break,” said Dianne Kiehl, executive director of the Business Health Care Group, a Milwaukee-based employer coalition dedicated to reducing costs and improving outcomes through transparent price and quality information for consumers. “The worst part is that even though they’d love to fix it, they don’t know where to start. ChangeNow4Health offers the opportunity to learn how others have fixed their problems and use that information to fix their own issues.”

“Collaboration is key in any change process, and, to date, there has been limited collaboration between stakeholders in health care,” said Julie Klapstein, chief executive officer of Availity, a Jacksonville, Florida-based electronic information exchange for all health care stakeholders. “The technology and structure of the online communities within ChangeNow4Health allows for the necessary collaboration, but in an environment that also encourages focused thinking and the development of easily implementable solutions. With ChangeNow4Health, we’re all one step closer to fixing the system together.”

“Traditionally, when consumers had an opinion, they often didn’t have a forum to express it or a voice to make it heard,” explained McCallister. “ChangeNow4Health provides that forum and voice. Anyone, regardless of age, race, sex, employer, political beliefs or any other factor can join this initiative and help us improve the health care system today.”