Question

What are the compelling mHealth statements that explain "value propositions" for patients/consumer health outcomes, patient-to-provider communication, healthcare costs/reimbursement, and patient safety?

Answer 1

Strategic planning in health care has undergone a shift over the past 50 years.

• From the 1960s into the 1980s, it was all about the buildings:
• the cost-based payment environment of the time spurred a strategic focus on expanding the physical footprint with new brick-and-mortar facilities.
• Then, from the 1980s until the first part of the 2010s, strategic planning was all about physicians and scale:
• With the advent of managed care, prospective payment, and the Affordable Care Act, the primary focus for healthcare organizations was on achieving competitive advantage through broader services, more extensive geographic reach, and relationships with a greater number of referring physicians

To ensure focus on the consumer, a provider’s game plan for strategic planning in 2018 and beyond requires:

• A clearly articulated value proposition
• A comprehensive position assessment
• A well-defined, effective initiative set

Value Proposition

“a positioning statement that explains what benefit you provide for who and how you do it uniquely well.”

Today’s healthcare leaders must work toward differentiating their organizations’ positions across the relevant dimensions of consumer value. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. Each market is unique based upon the underlying mix of consumers, consumer segments, and competition

To help close this gap, hospital and health system leaders should consider five key categories in defining and articulating their organizations’ value propositions:

• Business/Service/Product Mix
• Access
• Price/Cost
• Quality
• Consumer Experience

comprehensive position assessment

comprehensive position assessment that covers the traditional areas of the market, financial, and operational analytics, with the support of sophisticated consumer analytics,

In examining high-cost chronic conditions, for example, one health system analyzed its population of patients with diabetes and found that the primary cost drivers were lack of regular blood sugar monitoring and poor eating habits. Eighty percent of costs were attributed to two categories of patients—those who are at-risk but tend to avoid routine medical care, and those who receive routine care but otherwise are unengaged and often fail to follow physicians’ recommendations

Well-Defined, Effective Initiative Set

Armed with solid consumer insights, healthcare leaders can begin to work with internal stakeholders to define organizational goals and targets and the strategic initiatives for effectively achieving that goal

A Culture Obsessed With the Consumer

Shifting to a consumer-centric planning approach requires a significant shift in mindset. Historically, strategic planning for hospitals and health systems has focused largely inward. These organizations must turn that focus outward—to the consumer—if they are to plan effectively for health care’s future, and to stay relevant and grow. As such, consumer insights will influence all aspects of the strategic plan, from staffing to clinical care delivery to service line planning.