Ten more things we learned from HBI 2017
Technical change could dramatically de-skill in the next five years
Change is coming faster than you think. Computer added diagnosis of images could be 3-5 years off, rather than a decade away. Already machines can interpret many images more reliably than radiologists, according to several operators. In dentistry, new imaging techniques mean that the siting of implants can be moved from being an artisanal skill practiced by highly-paid implantologists to something that dental nurses can do.
Buy for growth not EBITDA
In many Emerging Markets projected growth is so high that investors are buying on growth potential. Chinta Baghat at Khazanah said that his team looks at EBITDA multiples as an “afterthought” after assessing growth potential.
Patient apps will disintermediate individual doctors and build lifetime value
Apps which enable patients to store their records and communicate directly with medical staff will cut the strength of the tie between individual patients and individual doctors. Patients will stop following individual doctors and stay with the existing provider. They won’t want to move data from app to app.
Train to retain
If you want to build loyalty and prevent brain drain, and have a steady supply of workers, especially in Emerging Markets and Eastern Europe, then train your own staff. Penta, Mediheal, and Max Healthcare are among the leading players who understand that it’s not always more money that causes employees to wander, and that the staff who train together often stay together.
Homecare is the new nursing home
Modern technology, combined with an increasing desire among the elderly to stay at home, is increasingly turning nursing homes into exclusively specialist facilities for high dependency residents – while the majority of people who hitherto would have resided in a nursing home can now stay at home. Nursing home operators need to abandon a silo approach to elderly care, and move towards creating clusters providing day care, serviced flats, and home care services too.
Every hospital should hire the A-Team
‘A’, as in analytics. Every operator needs a small team of mathematicians and analysts looking at the data being collected and effecting change. The best way to do this is to build a control room, supplying data to decision makers from a wall of analytics, at the core of the hospital.
Global procurement brings major synergies
Increasingly, operators who have gone global are looking at global procurement – and the savings to be gained by taking a ‘one product, one price’ approach with suppliers, rather than bartering in individual markets, can be significant.
There’s a shift to quality over quantity
In an effort to boost efficiency and effectiveness, both payers and providers are increasingly rewarding value rather than volume, leading to a greater focus on measuring quality outcomes, lowering costs and introducing performance-based payments, often through the use of digital tools like data analytics.
Rewarding value not volume encourages specialist hospitals
Modern hospitals are deconstructing – and certain specialities are moving out as clinic chains, day surgeries and diagnostics go solo. But this shift will happen slowly – inpatient revenues continue to bring in the highest revenues.
Think about cities, not countries
Too many operators aiming to expand internationally focus on countries. But there are significant differences at the sub-national level and cities within a country often offer strong contrasts in terms of income, availability of staff and ease of doing business.
We would welcome your thoughts on this story. Email your views to Ariane Jugieux or call 0207 183 3779.
