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Dr. Seema Sarin

This is an exciting time in health care. With new opportunities for growth and partnerships, improved technology, more robust data acquisition, and widened access to convenient care, 2019 represents a transformative moment for the health care landscape.

Below are some health care industry trends currently thriving in America.

Consolidation: Lowered Costs and Optimized Processes

The health care industry has been moving toward value-based care for a number of years. To achieve this, many successful practices are uniting to better negotiate pay rates and influence regulatory changes. The consolidation that has been a hallmark of industries like banking and retail is now gaining momentum in health care.

Deloitte research suggests that only 50% of current health care systems will be in place by 2029.[1] Private equity firms closed more than 500 health care deals in 2018, twice the amount in 2017. Partnerships including CVS and Aetna, Amazon and JPMorgan Chase & Co. were just two of 2018's high-profile pairings, and this trend continues in 2019.

What does this mean for consumers? It's both good and bad news.

Supporters of health care consolidation claim it lowers costs, which could be passed on to the consumer. When two companies merge, back office functions such as payroll, human resources, and general operations can be consolidated, too, with staff streamlined to minimize redundancy. In fact, an AHA report showed that between 2009 and 2014, health care mergers and acquisitions led to a cost reduction of approximately $5.8 million.[2]

Consolidation can also spread best practices. When two health care systems merge, processes are reviewed and optimized. More efficient methods often become the standard of care in both institutions. Also, as smaller hospitals become a part of larger institutions, their access to the latest technologies grows.

Consolidation: New Vulnerabilities for Patients

However, according to JAMA research, mergers can also increase adverse patient safety events.[3] A physician may be expected to increase their scope of practice into areas in which they may have not been fully trained. This can diminish the quality of care provided.

Consolidation can also limit competition and enhance the power of industry giants. For example, when certain pharmaceutical companies had a monopoly on a type of Epipen injector, they used this opportunity to significantly increase prices, dramatically affecting consumers who needed this lifesaving drug. Consolidated systems may also ask insurance companies to pay more for procedures. These price increases ultimately lead to higher insurance premiums and deductibles for the consumer. Consolidation also can lead to data breaches and exploited health care records, exposing valuable personal information that can be used for financial gain.

Access to More Convenient and Affordable Care

Consumers expect easier access to convenient care they can afford. For example, urgent care centers have grown from approximately 10% to 25 percent in the last four years. here are now over 7,000 urgent care centers in the United States, a number that has steadily increased in the past few years. Surveys show consumers believe this type of care is more convenient and less time consuming then waiting for an appointment with their primary care doctor.

Urgent care copays also tend to be much less expensive than an ER visit, thus decreasing consumer costs. In fact, studies suggest an average urgent care visit costs approximately $50-150, while an ER visit can cost $1000-$1500, or more![4]

Virtual or video visits offer even more convenient care. Surveys show that consumers prefer these "telehealth" options over traveling to their provider. Telehealth can reduce the costs and time required for care, but it also increases the potential for errors in diagnosis, as physicians must often rely on the patient self-reporting rather than more objective measures. Despite this concern, the U.S. has passed CONNECT (Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies) legislation, which expands the scope of Medicare-reimbursed services that can be provided via telehealth.

Lifestyle Medicine

Consumers and clinicians now understand that lifestyle choices contribute to many leading causes of death, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) defines lifestyle medicine as "the use of evidence-based lifestyle therapeutic approaches, such as a predominantly whole-food, plant-based diet, physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, tobacco cessation, and other non-drug modalities to prevent, treat, and, oftentimes, reverse chronic disease."

Growing evidence indicates that lifestyle medicine can reduce the risk of certain diseases by up to 80% -- more effectively than most medications.[5] ACLM membership is increasing, conferences on these topics are sold out, and more doctors are becoming board certified in this field of medicine each year.

Wearable Technology

I recently diagnosed a patient's atrial fibrillation -- a potentially serious heart condition that can increase a person's risk of stroke -- after he came into the office because his "Apple Heart Rate monitor was going crazy." Consumer access to health data has and will continue to shape the health care industry. In fact, this wearable technology has been projected to reach $12.1B by 2021.[6]

Data Analytics

Approximately 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated each day.[7] The industry collects data on everything from gender and socioeconomic status to how many times a consumer clicks through an ad for a new medication. The health care industry uses this data to understand patients and processes so as to improve care, reduce costs, and become more efficient.

Dr. Seema Sarin is a board certified Internal Medicine physician. She obtained dual degrees in Biology and Psychology with Honors at George Washington University and completed her medical school education at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. She then trained at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland, where she completed her Internal Medicine residency. She is a member of the American College of Preventive Medicine.

EHE Health is the only health care company in America specializing in prevention. We help people eat, think, and move for improved health, productivity, and longevity. Our approach utilizes emerging trends like data analytics and lifestyle medicine to provide patients with evidence-based care and practical behavioral guidance. EHE Health's comprehensive exam and health mentoring program help individuals create habits that produce measurable improvements in health.