Healthcare

The United States today spends more on healthcare than any other high-income country, yet ranks last in healthcare system performance. The difference is in what the country spends on and how it manages labor, healthcare goods and services, personal healthcare, and collective services, including administration fees.

We spend a disproportionate amount on people with chronic and mental health conditions, where many of those treatments prescribed are not effective or even necessary. Our physicians are overworked, resulting in lower patient satisfaction and care quality, higher medical error rates, and higher staff turnover. And while the Affordable Care Act has accelerated the shift from a volume-driven, fee-for-service model to an outcome-driven, value-based case model, it may be indirectly driving price increases for health services without necessarily improving the quality of care. Small providers without the resources to succeed alone are forced to merge with other providers, while providers are merging with payers to further lower costs, fueling rapid consolidation in the industry.

There is much to do before the healthcare system lives up to its potential in areas such as quality of care, patient safety, and care coordination. But it is also a tremendous opportunity for IT to take the lead in the future of healthcare and play a significant role in everything from improving the health of populations to reducing the per capita cost of care. It’s up to us IT leaders to seize it. And it begins with taking the first step towards digital healthcare.

Discover the ways you can drive healthcare through insights and innovation: