Fall is the time for strategic planning, and it’s the time of year that business leaders come together to review financial projections and agree on organizational priorities. It’s also the time to take a hard look at your options: a) Invest and Innovate, or b) Boost Market Value and Sell.
Whichever option you choose, the HealthX Group can help––as the latter might still require an investment in process improvements with immediate ROI.
But if your primary care practice is hungry to compete in a healthcare category that has arguably been the most disruptive and rapidly changing since COVID-19, the strategic priority for 2024 is simple: You need to innovate to grow!
The Delivery of Primary Care is Changing
Consumerism isn’t a new concept to healthcare. There are American healthcare consumers willing to pay a little more for better service or choose a brand known for quality outcomes. And there are others willing to pay for the services they need when they need them [Urgent Care], because that’s easier to understand than their insurance coverage and care options.
But how to compete for customers based on service or care options is a new concept to most healthcare systems and physician owned medical groups. This challenge presents an opportunity for primary care providers looking to grow, and when the game changes––your business strategy needs to change with it.
The Direct Primary Care [DPC] model is that game changer, and the delivery of primary care will need to be increasingly focused on options, technology, service, partnerships, and quality.
The One Medical Effect
One Medical’s success and rapid growth as a primary care platform should be viewed as the perfect example of how innovation in an industry not known for dynamic shifts can successfully position a provider in a short amount of time.
Here are eight strategies that continue to fuel One Medical’s success, and what you’ll need to do just to be competitive in this changing landscape:
1. Provide Convenient Access to Care
Convenience matters to patients tired of long wait times and hassles associated with traditional healthcare appointments. You’ll need to offer same-day or next-day appointments, or a mobile app for online scheduling and communication with healthcare providers. This will require providers to compromise, but the DPC model can be used to cover patient engagements that insurance does not.
The Philosophy: Accessibility matters … be accessible.
2. Utilize Tech-Enabled Healthcare
Embrace automation and leverage technology to streamline healthcare delivery. From mobile apps to EMR modules that allow patients to schedule appointments, communicate with doctors, access medical records, and get prescriptions electronically––technology is being rapidly adopted by every patient demographic.
The Investment: Based on your patient demographic, what’s the one thing that could be done tomorrow to improve automation and accessibility at patient intake (for example)?
3. Be Patient-Centered
This approach has to go beyond lip service to produce results. One Medical created a more personalized and satisfying experience for patients by focusing on their needs and preferences. It’s easier than you think, but it still takes work. This approach is also proven to increase patient satisfaction and retention, and it starts with accessibility, options, and listening.
Patient Engagement & Relationships: People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
4. Develop a Membership Model
Membership is a proven model in businesses outside of healthcare, and today’s healthcare consumer is opting to pay an annual fee to access to healthcare and services because it is something they can understand. They also want options, so offer wellness programs that their insurance doesn’t cover or allow your patients to choose self-pay.
The Benefit: Subscriptions generate steady revenue and provide a financial foundation for investing in further innovation to produce better patient experiences.
5. Emphasize Preventive Care & Quality of Care
The membership model offers more than revenue beyond reimbursement––it creates opportunities to promote preventive healthcare and wellness programs, and encourage patients to take a proactive approach to their health.
Value Based Care: The focus on preventing illness and managing chronic conditions can lead to better long-term health outcomes and reduced healthcare costs.
6. Build Relationships with People and Partnerships with Small Businesses
Healthcare is a people business. Invest in your people and build relationships with them (culture). Form partnerships with employers and small businesses to provide healthcare services to their employees––which is appealing to both companies and their workers.
Employee & Employer Engagement: Your people make the difference when it comes to business growth. Building relationships and partnerships will grow your patient base and increase employee retention.
7. Pay Attention to Consumer Trends
The shift in healthcare towards value-based care, telemedicine, and patient-centered models all played to One Medical’s strengths. They were well-positioned to adapt to these trends, and you’ll need to take a hard look at what your practice needs to change to be more membership focused (proactive) and less traditional (reactive).
Think Forward: The growing trend in consumer healthcare is membership, and the expectation of benefits and the value that comes with it.
8. Use Marketing to Differentiate
Effective branding and marketing efforts helped One Medical stand out in a crowded healthcare landscape. Their modern approach and patient-centric memberships quickly established value and positioned the brand as digitally accessible and convenient.
The ROI of Being Different: What are people saying about your practice and your brand? Why would they refer someone to you? If you don’t know … then neither will they.
The Path Forward
The problems facing physician owned practices are undeniable. One of the biggest is that reimbursements are not keeping pace with rising costs, and protecting margins is not sustainable or extending the viability of a business model past its maturity.
If you’re just starting a primary care practice, then the ‘Pure DPC’ model might be good for you. But if you’re interested in taking some insured patients, or you’re an existing practice with a broad base of existing patients, there’s opportunities to explore with a ‘Hybrid DPC’ model.
Getting started and the best opportunities for innovation are unique to each practice, but the best time to begin planning or scheduling a conversation for innovation is always now.
The HealthX Group can help you from strategy to execution, and systems and processes to implementation.
Contact us and let’s talk about innovation and growth. A good place to start is this question and/or food for thought: What are the big initiatives that will require leadership, a semi-realistic budget, and experienced (gap) resources for next year?