If there’s one thing that’s not a secret, it’s that changes to the healthcare system tend to move at a snail’s pace. The Affordable Care Act, for example, took nearly 5 years from the time of its introduction to the first open enrollment period1. Looking on a smaller scale at group health plans, even implementing new solutions can take months. The intricacies of the system lend itself to a progression timeline that seems, at times, to move backwards instead of forward.
Stating another inescapable fact; the world of technology is moving at speeds that make keeping up nearly impossible. If we speak about an innovation in the field of artificial intelligence, then it may very well be obsolete by the time you read this blog. The stark contrast between these two industry spaces can make you wonder how a marriage between them could even be possible.
Luckily, emerging health tech and solutions platforms are making this a reality with their ability to be flexible and pivot when new technologies emerge. So, how will larger entities in the healthcare space who are already weighed down under bureaucracy and disconnect be able to quickly redirect when the time comes? It may already be too late, which is why the future of healthcare likely lies with companies who are finding a way to rebuild the system into something proactive instead of reactive.
It’s a simple fact that true innovation drives down costs, just like how computers, televisions and phones were initially only accessible to the wealthy and now they fill nearly every household. Healthcare tools like TALON’s MyMedicalShopper™ were the first step into a much larger world of transparency that the industry has never seen before. And now that the healthcare consumer has access to service pricing, they also have been given back the power of choice.
With the ability to weigh cost and quality in the hands of the consumer, service providers who were once able to get away with high pricing will be at the mercy of competitive market economics, which will begin the process of driving down healthcare costs. Little by little, we will start to see how fast-moving technology solutions will be the driving force in making healthcare more affordable and accessible for everyone.
Looking even further down the road, tools that can increase employee engagement in their health like TALON’s Consumer Interest Calculator™ and MyMedicalRewards™ will set the stage for increased preventative care measures, exponentially reducing long term claims costs. We can now imagine a future where predictive technology can provide insights to the likelihood of future illnesses along with steps for how to prevent them.
It’s time as stakeholders in the healthcare space that we start to ask ourselves—will we continue to do things as they’ve always been done, or will we embrace innovation and move towards the healthcare marketplace of tomorrow? The ability to be nimble and flexible will be the key to success, which will put some at a competitive advantage but leave others struggling to move in a new direction.
Will you be able to keep up?
