Challenges in Healthcare Landscape

The healthcare landscape continues to evolve at an increasingly rapid pace. What are the primary (no more than 4) issues that a healthcare company must address to grow despite this fluid landscape.

In my opinion, healthcare companies must combat the below mentioned primary issues to sustain and grow in today’s fluid healthcare landscape:

1. Lack of first-hand feedback mechanism globally: While pharmacovigilance is an established practice in developed countries, healthcare companies should invest in institutionalizing this practice in developing and emerging economies to seek feedback that is representative of their complete target market. To this end, companies should leverage social media, mHealth and other innovative mechanisms to implement a global feedback loop that will contribute to better patient-care.

2. Lack for affordable patient-care: As disease rates grow, healthcare companies must continue to innovate affordable patient-care strategies for patients not only in developed and emerging economies, but also the small, unnoticed countries around the globe that are in dire need of affordable care. Doing so will re-establish global trust in this changing healthcare landscape, a strategy quintessential to growth.

3. Lack of a true, global presence: While healthcare companies have established offices around the globe, one underlying problem is the lack of a true, global presence, especially in underdeveloped countries that are plagued with poverty. Expanding global outreach in its true sense by targeting on M&A activities in such markets is definitely an avenue that will ensure growth despite the fluid healthcare landscape.

4. Lack of relationships with the new-age patient outcome decision makers: The healthcare landscape is shifting the decision power from the archetypal patient to healthcare providers, payers, insurers and regulatory bodies. Forging genuine partnerships with these decision makers is key to long-term growth.