Posted by Michael Wonder on 30 Oct 2017
The innovation health care really needs: help people manage their own health
30 October 2017 - Finally, health care, which has been largely immune to the forces of disruptive innovation, is beginning to change.
Seeing the potential to improve health with simple primary-care strategies, some of the biggest incumbent players are inviting new entrants focused on empowering consumers into their highly regulated ecosystems, bringing down costs.
This shift is long overdue. Whereas new technologies, competitors, and business models have made products and services more affordable and accessible in media, finance, retail, and other sectors, U.S. health care keeps getting costlier. It is now by far the world’s most expensive system per capita, about twice that of the UK, Canada, and Australia, with chronic conditions such as diabetes and heart disease now accounting for more than 80% of total spending.
Payers are getting onboard. A range of recent pilot programs modelled on Iora’s — by Aetna, CareMore, Dignity Health, Humana, Kaiser Permanente, and the Medicare Advantage program — are using coaches and home visits to substantially improve health and lower costs. One study found that providers participating in Medicare’s Independence at Home Demonstration saved $1,010 per beneficiary on average in the second year of the program, primarily by reducing hospital use.
