“… in studying the healthcare system we know one thing: the cheapest place to provide care is in the home and the cheapest provider of care is the family. The exception should be other venues and other providers beyond the home and the family. So how do we think about providing healthcare in the home? Where are the nurses that we need to do home care? And that balance is going to be really important because if we’re just trying to educate more professionals and we keep our healthcare system the way it is from a reimbursement standpoint we will only drive more costs, focus more on sickness, and we’ll continue to break the bank around the world. And then fourth Health and Medical Apps are changing the healthcare landscape. The global market grew by 28% in 2013, there are 1.6 Billion smartphone subscribers around the globe. In 2012 247 million people downloaded Health Apps by 2018 this is expected to be 1.7 Billion. Why are they interested?? Well for those of you that use a smartphone to access services and information: People want it their way. And I’ll give you the new definition for quality in healthcare: it’s CONVENIENCE. For 80% of us using the healthcare system in a convenient accessible way is far more important than whether or not my phlebotomist has a PHD. And when you need more complex and necessary care people want their hands held. So There are two types of Patients, there are consumers who are using healthcare and want it on their own terms at a cost they can afford and a place that’s convenient for them and then there are Patients who need to have their hand held and be guided through the system. When I was being medi-evacuated in my helicopter (following an accident while skiing) to Dartmouth Hitchcock Clinic in New Hampshire, I was not a consumer of healthcare. My health app wasn’t going to help me decide how to spend my money, and by the way my helicopter ride blew me threw my deductible out of pocket cost sharing anyway and so it didn’t matter anyway! I needed people around me that were going to guide me through my care, I needed people that were going to help me to understand how to take care of myself, how to get back to healthy. And so these apps that are growing across the landscape are really about how do individuals want to access care. They want it on their terms, they want it in a place that’s convenient for them and they want it to be affordable. And people will find that convenience and that is the definition of quality for 80% of the population…(15:55-18:49)”
Mark Bertolini, CEO and Chairman of Aetna, delivering a keynote at the World Innovation Summit for Health.
