As 2013 draws to an end, healthcare providers should be planning for big changes in healthcare in the New Year. January 1 starts to beginning of ObamaCare insurance. In 2014, more patients will be covered by insurance than ever before. So what are the predictions for the New Year?
First, medicine is entering the era of big data. Healthcare providers will be encouraging patients to enter medical centered homes, get preventive health such as mammograms, flu shots, colonoscopies.
Big data will lead to targeted marketing of medical services. Healthcare will start to model businesses like Facebook, Amazon and Netflix. If a patient uses a certain prescription or has a certain illness, the patient will start to get offers surrounding that prescription or illness.
The biggest change is that patients will start to move toward being true consumers. Price transparency and availability of quality measures will give patients more information to make an informed decision about their healthcare services. This makes customer service for all healthcare providers even more important in the coming year.
Consolidation and team work will be essential in 2014. More will be asked of every healthcare provider and thus, each healthcare provider must have a good network or partner to continue to provide great services to their patients. Healthcare is complex and coordination of care will be key.
Lastly, the era of a private physician who knows each of his/her patients will growingly become a luxury and not the norm. Physicians will need to become more efficient with their time and talent. Conceirge medicine will grow as some patients will choose to keep their personal relationship with their physician.
All healthcare providers should be looking ahead and planning for the New Year. We’ve loved working with all of you this year. We wish everyone a Happy New Year!
Tell us what strategies your practice is using in the coming year? Share your ideas with us by clicking on the comment button below. We’d love to hear from you.
Get “News You Can Use” delivered directly to your e-mail inbox. Click here to Subscribe.
