Deloitte released its 2017 Global Health Care Outlook: Making Progress Against Persistent Challenges report in January.
The key issues include:
1. The report predicts continued healthcare defragmentation to focused consolidation and connectivity.
2. Healthcare providers and stakeholders are addressing the cost curve and managing health populations with public and private sectors transitioning to financial incentives from the "break-fix" model to prevention and predictive maintenance.
3. There is a movement from volume to value-based care models aligning physician and hospital bonus and penalty with outcomes and cost measures.
4. Healthcare quality, services and policies aren't keeping up with the aging population.
5. Chronic disease continues to be an issue for developed and emerging countries with access to care varying across the world.
6. Consumers are more informed about healthcare decisions and are becoming more financially responsible for healthcare decisions, and they have higher expectations for care.
7. Economic challenges are making it more difficult for governments to spend high amounts on expanding healthcare demands.
8. Many companies are focused on cost containment in healthcare reforms with alternative financial models and public-private partnerships.
9. Several countries are instituting drug price controls and the report predicts drug manufacturers will need to justify costs of their products with comparative effectiveness.
10. The operational models are moving toward alignment between clinicians on the consumer/patient-centered care while diversifying the care settings and types of services offered.
11. Healthcare providers look to eliminate waste and explore alternative care delivery models like retail clinics, telehealth and medical tourism for "everywhere care."
12. In the United States, more healthcare providers are using mergers and acquisitions as well as alliances to consolidate into large health system for economies of scale and to reach more patients.
13. Medical professionals are adopting personalized and precision care technology which shifts the clinical offerings to mass customization. In the future, personalized care could move to healthcare based on genetics and individual health information.
14. Healthcare organizations are delivering care through mHealth, telehealth and EMR as well as incorporating wearables and social media into their care plans to deliver value in a competitive environment.
15. Healthcare system margins are shrinking and new payment models require data and analytics to ensure value.
16. Healthcare regulation is focused on drug and patient safety, including off-label marketing, safety risk disclosure and clinical trial process concerns.
17. Cybersecurity is increasingly important for healthcare providers, who are tracking business relationships to minimize fraud and abuse.
18. The increasingly global marketplace will challenge healthcare organizations.