How the healthcare industry can better deliver care
Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly is making strategic bets on advancing delivery of care. According to the drug maker, the future of the diabetes market will belong to companies that monitor patients and deliver drugs rather than the business that makes insulin itself.
As one of the biggest makers of insulin in the world, Lilly has teamed up with with Dexcom, a glucose monitoring company, to unveil a device-driven strategy: an automated wearable that monitors and delivers insulin to patients with diabetes. This expansion is a significant step for the company trying to stay competitive in the diabetes market.
This collaboration represents an exciting time for the industry. As the landscape for healthcare continues to shift, we are seeing companies take on new roles to improve overall patient outcome. While new emerging deals will vary in form as they surface, the goal will remain the same: deliver better, safer, and more efficient care.
A push towards a new era in analytics, interoperability and population health is at the heart of CVS’s recently announced acquisition of Aetna, for instance. In another example, Cleveland Clinic marked its first entrance into the health insurance market after partnering with Oscar Health to offer co-branded health insurance plans to consumers in Ohio. The two companies will work together to offer consumers a seamless, affordable and efficient healthcare experience with the focus of delivering better care.
PwC is also showing up in new healthcare arenas. Through our DoubleJump Health initiative, we partnered with the University of Texas to engage a community in South Texas plagued by diabetes. Together we are collaborating with retailers, telecoms, doctors and grocery stores to change how and when patients receive care. We are pushing businesses to think differently about serving individual needs through partnerships and innovation.
What we’re seeing in Texas and across the sector is something we all likely suspect: you cannot solely write a prescription for chronic illnesses and pervasive health issues, instead you must focus on enhancing the overall delivery of care. In 2018, the healthcare industry will step up its pursuit of efficiency to stay competitive, improve performance and offset risks. Here’s how:
- Cross-sector collaboration: It has become clear that we cannot solve the biggest challenges in healthcare working in silos. In order to tackle complex challenges, industry stakeholders must break down barriers and work together with an eye on what’s best for the ultimate end user: patients.
- Harness intelligence: Artificial Intelligence is gaining momentum and has the potential to significantly alter the industry, from the exam room to the back office to the supply chain. The sector has to get smarter on this technology to gain efficiency and streamline decision-making. AI can help with automated tasks such as screening candidates, financial processing and reporting. Employees function best when they’re able to practice at the top of their license or abilities. If AI tools help with or handle repetitive tasks, employees can focus on more important endeavours, working smarter instead of harder.
- Better use data: Delivery of care, efficiency, and the patient experience can be greatly improved through better use of data. Just as retailers harnessed data’s power to understand consumer behavior, healthcare organizations must gain deeper, more holistic insights into their patients.
- Protect information: Just like retailers, healthcare organizations will have to learn how to protect their data. Healthcare faced major, industry-wide cybersecurity breaches this year and a 525% increase in medical device cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Health organizations and companies should prepare for possible breaches with robust defenses and remediation plans—and be able to respond if their networks, or devices, are hacked.
2018 will be distinguished by persistent uncertainty and risk for the industry, but stakeholders cannot just sit on their hands and wait to act. Industry challenges will spur health organizations to seek out greater cross-sector collaboration, make new strategic investments and create efficiencies to improve the overall speed and quality of patient care.
To gain more insights, check out PwC Health Research Institute's "Top Health Industry Issues of 2018."
Senior Anaesthetic Practitioner and Infection Control Lead
6yHe's going to have to re-glove that iPad is surely not sterile!
creator at Blooming Lovely Dalgety Bay
6ydo you actually get paid to write that? If so I am in the wrong bloody job! What a load of corporate speak shite! Seriously this is another example of what is wrong with this world. Doctors, too scared of being sued to actually tell patients to stop eating sugary and fatty foods else you will become a big fat person with lots of health problems , like heart disease and diabetes. And companies preying on the poor sods who don't have self inflicted illnesses - and companies coming up with corporate bullshitspeak like this article..... what ever happened to PREVENTION of illnesses, or CURE of illnesses - CAN YOU NOT MAKE ENOUGH MONEY FROM THESE TO BE SATISFIED
OPERATIONS | SALES | BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
6yAparna
Pipefitter apprentice at Local 198
6yDo we really need all these modern day gadgets and DRUGS to cure people. NO! Why? Because no one is being cured. Doctors are the biggest HYPOCRITES ever by allegedly adhering to the Hippocratic Oath. We all know that America’s licensed dope pushers (doctors and all other pill prescribers) violate the oath every time a pill is prescribed. “DO NO HARM” IS ONE OF THE MAJOR PRINCIPLES OF THE OATH. Now, how can doctors adhere to that oath while prescribing something that kills thousands per year? Rhetorical question because no doctor can justify it.
Technical Co-Founder at TutorPal
6yDrug delivery and monitoring systems are going to be big business. It was only 10 years ago that pedometers were the craze, now we have devices that will monitor glucose levels and deliver insulin. Building on this technology, devices will be a part of the IoT and will monitor multiple variables simultaneously; heart rate, blood pressure, iron levels, body temperature and so on. Some uses will include: - Alerting family member's when an elderly parents body temperature is too high or low - Recording, storing and making data available to your doctor to provide tailored treatments - Alerting emergency services to a severe drop in blood pressure (indicating severe blood loss) The devices and data collected will be invaluable to drug-makers, priceless to families and ease the jobs of our doctors. With a growing population and the increased desire for better healthcare, it's obvious that this industry will prosper.