Seems across Payor, Providers and Biopharma the Top 4 Priorities are consistent across the healthcare delivery network…In order of priorities starting at the Top:
- Digital upskilling- Present and new staff
- Replacing people with Technology
- Hiring a new class of employees with skills to support the new capabilities
- Promoting Diversity at all levels
How healthcare gets delivered and how much we pay for it remain top of mind, particularly as we go into an election year in the States. The question for 2020- is how will all this digital transformation benefit patients and consumers?
The key questions asked across presentations at special events I attended at JPM were:
- How fast will consumer experience change?
- Will Docs, aided by data driven insights, make better diagnoses?
- How will all the new drugs in development be aided by virtual clinical trials and faster regulatory reviews?
- How will payors provide consumers better choices- place of services, lower prices and better outcomes?
- As data abounds, how to monetize it? Concerns over Data reliability and data protection/privacy regulations still are of serious concern. As to was, generating returns on investments in technology (digital, mobile)
- Will the push to value-based care have true impact on costs and improve care delivery?
- How will we control the high cost of gene therapy (there are 200 investigational new drugs using gene and cell therapy, with 10+ approvals per year expected through 2025)?
One last observation-the PEs in HC remain bullish in segments that include- A) PPM (Physican Practice Mgnt) roll ups- think every specialty under the sun.. B) Specialty Pharmacies and C) Value based care..They tend to follow the patient experience- from finding a physician, to where to get that care, treatment alternatives, Market access, addressing Hospital inefficiencies, Discharge alternatives and how to reduce readmissions.. Areas that appear to not be of interest to investors included the following sectors with clear head winds: PBMs, bets on Pharma- with Political, Legal and Regulatory risks, EMR products and Hospice care/reimbursement. Of course their biggest ongoing concern remains high valuations and exit planning. They still believe, even in a down economy- HC will remain an active investor segment.
JD Utterback
Managing Director -Healthcare
Horton International-North America
