As technology and innovation are creating new opportunities for consumer access to health care, Leadership Health Care hosted a Fundamentals series panel discussion on how the mobilization of health care is impacting the industry.
Last week’s panel featured Cole Hawkins, co-founder and CEO, Dose Healthcare; April Kapu, DNP, associate chief nursing officer for advanced practice, Vanderbilt University; and Fahad Tahir, president and CEO, Saint Thomas Midtown and Saint Thomas West Hospitals. Molly Cate, founding partner and chief innovation officer for Jarrard Inc. moderated the discussion.
All three panelists agreed that the future of health care is mobile and that it’s patients who are leading the charge for this transformation. Dose, a company that provides worksite health clinics for small-to-medium sized companies, is looking at innovative ways to give patients the health care they desire.
“When I think of mobility, I think of breaking down access barriers that we think of with traditional health care,” said Hawkins. “It means bringing health care straight to the patient, no matter where they are at as opposed to waiting for them to come to a hospital or doctor’s office.”
Earlier this year, Vanderbilt launched its Vanderbilt Health OnCall service, which allows patients to see a provider at home, in the office, at a hotel or wherever the patient is within two hours of a request. As they continue to build this program, the patient remains top of mind for Vanderbilt.
“Our focus at Vanderbilt when it comes to mobilization is always moving health care out to the consumer,” said Kapu. “We always take it back to the value equation. What is the patient’s perception of value? What are they willing to do? Where are they willing to go? What are they willing to invest in to make a healthier lifestyle possible?”
For Tahir and his team at Saint Thomas, which is part of Ascension, mobilization is all about putting the patients back in the driver’s seats when it comes to their own health and wellbeing.
“To me, mobility is the awakening of the patient to not let the rest of us tell them what to do anymore,” said Tahir. “Mobilization allows patients to take ownership of their own health care. It’s up to us in the health care industry to ask ourselves how we disrupt the way we currently think to better serve our patients and meet them where they are.”
The panel went on to discuss the role both payers and providers play in this move towards mobilization and highlighted examples of those who are doing mobilization well. One example they highlighted is Kaiser Permanente, a company who serves as both the payer and provider. In 2017, 50% of Kaiser’s primary care visits were done through a virtual mechanism, which shows there is a desire for mobilization in health care.
This Fundamentals series discussion is part of ongoing programming for the Council’s Leadership Health Care initiative, offering members insights into key industry-related topics. For more information about Leadership Health Care, visit www.leadershiphealthcare.com.