Mar 25
2019
HealthCare Executive Group and Change Healthcare Release 9th Annual Industry Pulse Report
The HealthCare Executive Group (HCEG), in partnership with Change Healthcare, published the 9th Annual Industry Pulse Research Report. Up to 255 survey respondents, with more than 48 percent being vice presidents or higher in executive leadership, shared their insight on the critical issues, challenges and opportunities ranked by HCEG members on the 2019 HCEG Top 10 list last fall.
The confirmation of the HCEG Top 10 and more detailed insights from the Industry Pulse survey are an invaluable resource for healthcare executives within their own organizations. Healthcare leaders can use this report to engage their management in deeper and more constructive efforts to competitively position themselves in their marketplace and to develop more robust and effective strategic programs.
“We hope the 2019 Annual Industry Pulse Report spurs conversation and action for current stakeholders in adapting much faster to demands of a 21st century healthcare system,” said Ferris Taylor, executive director of HCEG. “If traditional stakeholders aren’t able to transform healthcare, outside parties will.”
Healthcare Amid Continued Uncertainty Reflected in HCEG Top 10 & Industry Pulse
- External Market Disruption (#7) entered the HCEG Top 10 list for the first time and is confirmed by the Industry Pulse Report with 32.2 percent of respondents anticipating the greatest impact to be “disrupting current business models.” Whether or not external entrants find healthcare to be more complicated than they thought is yet to be seen.
- Payment Reform/Value-Based Payments (#4) has been on the HCEG Top 10 list every year for the last decade. 63.6 percent of the Industry Pulse Report respondents expect it will be three years or more before payments contain both upside and downside risk.
- Consumerism (#2), Mobile/Digital Health (#5) and member engagement have ranked high in the HCEG Top 10 for a number of years. This year’s Industry Pulse Report shows the tools and services being used to enhance member/patient engagement and the best approaches for addressing passive patients, such as incentives, health literacy and cost transparency tools.
- The Data & Analytics (#1) to support multiple healthcare priorities is highlighted this year. Progress in how primary sources of clinical data and analytics have recently been impacting the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare quality and outcomes are also suggested.
- Population Health/Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) (#3) moved higher in the HCEG Top 10 as the industry transitioned from broad medical condition segments of the population to looking at what is called “barriers to better health.” Industry Pulse survey respondents shared how their organizations are integrating SDoH and which non-medical barriers to care their organizations will take action on in the next 12 months. Also noted are anticipated challenges to integrating SDoH into population and clinical care programs.
- Privacy/cybersecurity (#10) wasn’t a significant HCEG issue until four or five years ago when a 100 million member records were breached. Industry Pulse indicates that efforts to address cybersecurity threats may be stalling and provides specifics as to reasons. Recently, Modern Healthcare reported that 2 million member records were compromised across 31 different breaches in February 2019 alone — a 500 percent increase over February 2018. This should alarm the industry and HCEG encourages everyone to look at the reasons shared as to why Cybersecurity initiatives are not a higher priority.