According to the American Hospital Association, companies that drive the post-pandemic economy will go beyond transactional, episodic ties with patients and may instead rely on subscription-based solutions.
Patients are requesting that things be changed. According to the study “ConnectedEconomyTM: Omnichannel Healthcare Takes Center Stage,” customers in the United States began using digital channels to interact with their healthcare providers, and they have continued to use patient portals, telemedicine technology, and mobile applications ever since. 46 percent of them — an estimated 119 million — now use a combination of traditional in-person and digital options to obtain healthcare services.
And the subscription business model may offer such choices at a fair cost. As new players enter the healthcare industry, expect them to arrange and provide services under the subscription business model. They may interact with clients in ways so basic that we have yet to imagine them. They will also use the subscription model to build a loyal customer base and a steady income flow.
Evolution rather than revolution
Payers, particularly those in the public sector, desire a solution that simplifies healthcare delivery and funding while permitting widespread yet low-cost access. And the trend has been developing for some years.
In the 1970s and 1980s, Kaiser Permanente pioneered the health maintenance organization (HMO) concept. The strategy gained traction among organizations looking for consistent, predictable employee healthcare costs. Employees, however, complained to the limited number of physicians, therapies, and treatments accessible, and the model developed into the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) concept, which allows patients to choose providers outside of their plan’s network for a higher out-of-pocket fee.
Concierge care is a newer method of providing primary care. In this system, patients pay a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee for unrestricted access to a primary care physician. This often entails rather unfettered telehealth access. This notion has yet to be included into employee benefit packages.
