Excellent event yesterday at CommNexus – “What does Healthcare Reform Mean to San Diego Businesses?” Hosted at Qualcomm, the event featured a panel of leaders from West Wireless Health Institute, Sharp Healthcare, CareFusion, and Qualcomm. So what are the characteristics of these opportunities?
- Innovations that deliver high quality at a lower cost
- Products which engage patients more in their own care, at home
However, according to David Schlotterbeck (CEO: CareFusion), the quantity of technical innovations is not the issue. The questions are “who will pay?” and ultimately, “will patients have better outcomes?” With hundreds of millions already invested in great solutions the winners will be those solutions which disrupt the delivery model. CareFusion has a primary focus on taking the cost out of healthcare by putting a top priority on Operational Excellence. I like their focus: do it right the first time!
The downside? What about consumers? Unanimous feedback from the panel that we’re going to see significant increase in our own healthcare costs at least near term. Gains are in the long-term when we could potentially see a better cost model and improved outcomes for our children.
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