December 4, 2013

Will the extensive use of analytics, IT and other technologies change the cost-effectiveness equation in the U.S. healthcare system?

The rise of already stellar health care costs in the U.S. (almost 20% of GDP), threatens the future financial stability of the U.S. Furthermore, the implementation of the recent Affordable Care Act adds a tremendous load to the healthcare delivery systems with more patients entering the system. The model for healthcare delivery needs to be transformed from merely providing care to ill patients, to proactively managing the health of populations and communities. We should start thinking of patients as people, thinking of them when they are not yet sick, thinking of wellness and making sure that people are not coming to the hospitals at the first place. The use of new technologies and analytics can provide people with cost-efficient solutions and empower them to take care of their health and wellbeing before getting sick. Here we face with a need for a fundamental transformation of the traditional healthcare delivery models and health systems — systems that include complex organizations often driven by contradictory incentives. We need to flip the coin of the reimbursement system that is currently based on the old model of curing sick people.