Our recent webinar on Healthcare Trends for 2008 sparked a lively debate on the force of consumerism — or retail orientation, as some call it — in healthcare. One presenter predicted it will go the way of the capitation movement. A participant said the industry hasn’t gone far enough in incentivizing consumers to change unhealthy or costly behaviors.
Whether you’re a hospital, health plan, physician or service provider, this issue has likely changed your job description and your organization’s processes and bottom line. As open enrollment begins for many consumers, we’ll see lots of tools and technology to support the consumer through the benefit selection process. In this week’s news stories, SAMHSA awards grants to draw consumers into the transformation of this country’s mental health system. Another grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation will create a database for consumers on hospitals’ and physicians’ cost and quality of care.
How is consumerism transforming your work, and what other trends will impact your organization in the next 12 months? There’s still time to take HIN’s third annual e-survey on healthcare trends for the year ahead and receive a complimentary e-summary of the results.
