The $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare sector will soon begin acting like a “true market” as the proliferation of consumer-based approaches and devices continues and as newly-insured customers enter the system, according to PwC’s annual top health industry trends for the forthcoming year.
The consultancy’s Health Research Institute outlined what is sees as the top 10 issues for 2015, based on a survey of 1,000 consumers and industry leaders.
The top 10 issues for the health industry in the year ahead are as follows, according to the report:
1. “Do-it-yourself healthcare;” U.S. physicians and consumers are ready to embrace a dramatic expansion of the high-tech, personal medical kit. Wearable tech, smart phone-linked devices and mobile apps will become increasingly valuable in care delivery.
2. Making the leap from mobile app to medical device ; a proliferation of approved and portable medical devices in patients’ homes, and on their phones, makes diagnosis and treatment more convenient, redoubling the need for strong information security systems.
3. Balancing privacy and convenience; privacy will lose ground to convenience in 2015 as patients adopt digital tools and services that gather and analyze health information.
4. High-cost patients spark cost-saving innovations; the soaring cost of care for Medicare and Medicaid “dual eligibles,” aging boomers and patients with co-morbidities will foster creative care delivery and management systems.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
5. Putting a price on positive outcomes; with high-priced new products and specialty drugs slated to hit the market in 2015, increasing demand for new evidence and definitions of positive health outcomes are expected.
6. Open everything to everyone; new transparency initiatives targeting clinical trial data, real-world patient outcomes and financial relationships between physicians and pharmaceutical companies will improve patient care and open new opportunities.
7. Getting to know the newly insured; 2015 will be a revelatory year for the U.S. health sector as a portrait of the newly-insured emerges, fostering better care management programs and shifting marketing strategies.
8. Physician extenders see an expanded role in patient care; so-called physician “extenders” – nurse practitioners, physician assistants and the like – are becoming the first line of care for many patients, as doctors delegate tasks, monitor patients digitally and enter into risk-based payment models.
9. Redefining health and well-being for the millennial generation; as the economy rebounds and baby boomers retire, employers and insurers look for new ways to engage, retain and attract the next generation of health consumers.
10. Partnerships; in 2015, joint ventures, open collaboration platforms and non-traditional partnerships will push healthcare companies out of the comfort zone toward new competitive strategies.
“With consumers leading the way, bearing more costs and making more decisions, change is erupting throughout the health industry,” said Kelly Barnes, PwC’s U.S. health industries leader, in a statement. “Established healthcare companies and new entrants are rapidly developing cost-efficient products and services tailored directly to consumers.
Among consumers, the report found that consumers remain concerned about privacy of health data, with 68 percent of respondents saying smart phone they were concerned about smart phone health app data security. Another 78 percent cited medical data security as a concern.
Consumers are also willing to extend greater authority to non-physicians, with 75 percent saying they were open to “extenders.”
Physicians, meanwhile, expressed interest in the DIY healthcare products and services – even more so than the consumers. While about one-third of consumers said they would use a home urinalysis device, more than one-half of physicians said they would use data from such a device to prescribe medication or decide to see patients.
