Health care spending is entering
a Perfect Storm with many apparent but also many unanticipated storm
fronts. For example, hospitalization rates increase sharply as we advance
from middle age with 111 discharges/1000 into our senior years with 344
discharges/1000. That’s an apparent front, as is the sheer size of the Baby
Boomer cohort. But an unanticipated front is the likelihood of more moving from
provider to provider among this incipient senior group as compared to older
cohorts. Boomers’ debate style leads them to an “Engage Me” approach to
providers which not only causes more switching (less loyalty), but also takes
more encounter time, compared with more compliant “Direct Me” seniors (Matching
the Market, Truven Health Analytics).
Together, this describes a near
term future of sharply increasing numbers of people needing healthcare
services, more first-time patients, and more visits where the patient requires
longer and more intense engagement – and it’s just one aspect of healthcare’s
Perfect Storm. The
value of tools such as digital health records will become more apparent as
they help to avoid redundant services because they offer up-to-date and
complete patient information for new providers, and enable desired engagement
but minimize additional encounter time.
Linda MacCracken
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