Health Care
The future of health care in the United States is among the most pressing policy issues of our time, and impending changes portend compelling challenges and opportunities for industry. The U.S. spends 16% of GDP on health care, compared with 8 to 10% in most industrialized nations, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) projects that growth in health spending will continue to outpace GDP over the next 10 years. Wide variations in cost and quality across the U.S. underlie these national trends, indicating opportunities to increase efficiency.
The federal government, in addition to its health policy role, is also the largest single medical system in the country. The Department of Veterans Affairs provides care to almost 8 million patients through 150 VA-operated hospitals, 800 clinics, and 135 nursing homes. Beyond the VA, the military health system will consume $47 billion, or almost 9% of total defense appropriations in fiscal year 2010. “Health care is eating the [Defense] Department alive,” according to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. Controlling health care costs while providing universal access to quality care, has become nothing less than a national security concern.
A key tenet of plans for controlling health care costs has been the introduction of information technology solutions to improve care and increase efficiency. Interoperable electronic health records (EHR) have long promised to help health providers cut costs by eliminating medical transcription, reducing errors and administrative costs, and reducing duplication of diagnostic tests. Proper implementation of EHRs may also help physicians manage the care of chronic conditions, and help patients make good decisions by providing them with metrics about the doctors and facilities from which they may choose to receive treatment.
Many improvements promised by information technology will directly impact the core missions of government agencies. For the Department of Defense, information technology has the potential to support combat missions directly by enhancing battlefield medicine – remote diagnosis and surgery could provide deployed soldiers real-time access to the specialists they need. The federal government’s public health mission also stands to benefit from digitizing health information. Each component of the Department of Health and Human Services requires access to large pools of medical data: medical research at the National Institutes of Health, epidemic monitoring at the Centers for Disease Control, and post-approval drug monitoring and food safety investigations at the Food and Drug Administration. Digitizing health records will result in disability claims processing in minutes, as opposed to the 75 days currently averaged at the Social Security Administration.
Companies seeking to address these pressing requirements are faced with the challenge of a fragmented, disconnected customer community with competing concerns. Technology solutions must take into account the human factors inherent in the health care market – how will physicians and technicians use the technology? How will the technology perform in an actual patient environment, in emergency or battlefield situations? Technology is certainly part of the equation, but successful firms balance technical excellence with a rigorous understanding of health-specific processes and procedures, and vet their solutions with the medical community they seek to serve.
AVASCENT’S EXPERIENCE SERVING THE HEALTH CARE SECTOR
The Avascent Group is uniquely positioned to provide sound guidance for both established players and new entrants in the health care information technology market. Avascent combines market expertise with a broad understanding of client problems and perspectives. Avascent has developed an extensive understanding of the macro market trends, unique customer requirements, and competitive dynamics of the health care information technology market. Avascent builds on this expertise to craft market strategies, develop tactical pursuit plans, and identify opportunities in the health care information technology market.
Avascent supports firms already specializing in providing IT to the federal health community understand the risks they face from new entrants. Avascent has advised firms on how to broaden their capabilities proactively to increase their value to the customer and secure their market position. Additionally, Avascent works closely with federal IT firms facing the potential of decline in their core markets, helping firms develop an entry strategy into the federal health care market.
Avascent’s clients approach the health care information technology market from multiple channels. Avascent’s tailored analytic support helps firms, whatever their health experience, to move up the value chain, becoming a trusted partner for federal health customers.