‘You have to fundamentally change how you view things’
MODERN HEALTHCARE, along with analyst Paul Keckley, conducted a twopronged survey in March and April to gauge what executives think about the future and which trends will have the biggest impact on the industry. Keckley engaged in a lively discussion with
Dr. Stephen Klasko, CEO of Philadelphiabased Jefferson Health, about the survey results during the Transformation Summit’s opening session. (All survey results are available at ModernHealthcare.com/TransSurvey.) Here’s what they had to say about the hot topic of disruption during their hourlong conversation.
KLASKO:
We’re going through a oncein-a-lifetime change in healthcare from a B-to-B model to a B-to-C model; the physician and administrator as the boss to the patient is the boss. If you believe that … you have to fundamentally change how you view things.
KECKLEY:
The people outside this industry—the Apples and Googles and Microsoft, and even groups like Optum—have already made that bet. They’re deploying capital to that endgame. But those of us inside think it’s probably not as real.
KLASKO:
People always ask, “Are you worried about Amazon, JP Morgan and Berkshire Hathaway?” And I say, “No.” That’s like the Loch Ness monster. I’m not sure it exists and if it bites me, I’ll know. But when you look at CVS and Aetna, and talk to Larry Merlo (president and CEO of CVS Health), that they’re the new front door. Well, I’m the back door. Humana is talking about getting together with Walgreens and Walmart. Look at UnitedHealth Group, which was big United insurance and small Optum, and is now rebalancing. They’re all smart moves. We can’t keep sitting here as nonprofit hospital providers saying, “I’m going to make sure that I have really, really nice hospitals for my patients.”
KECKLEY:
But the market cap for United is $250 billion, give or take, and the largest of us is less than 5% of that. If we think this transition occurs, the folks that have access to capital and have scale are able to achieve the scope and make the impact that “local healthcare” can’t.