Healthcare market to be 'bullish' over the next decade

A new report issued by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) suggests that the healthcare industry will be a promising place in which to work and invest over the next decade.

PwC's "HealthCast" report, which analyzed the influence of consumerism, genomics and the Internet on healthcare, concludes that healthcare jobs – including new positions such as healthcare navigators, health educators and care coordinators – will be in high demand. There should also be an increasing need for primary care physicians, nurses and physician's assistants, according to researchers.

"From a business/economic perspective, PwC is extremely bullish on prospects for dramatic improvements in healthcare,"  a PwC spokeswoman said. "The healthcare system is really getting 'wired up' and will provide major cost savings in the very near term."

PWC's Health Research Institute based the study on a survey of 590 leaders of health plans, providers, government, employers, physician groups and pharmaceutical and life science firms in 20 countries. The research included more than 200 interviews in 25 countries with thought leaders and executives representing government, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, insurance companies, clinicians, academics and the business community.

According to PWC's forecast, the next phase of healthcare reform in the United States will focus on increasing patient involvement in care.

"Embedded in the U.S. healthcare reform package are lesser known provisions that increase emphasis on prevention, positive health outcomes, better coordination of care and comparative effectiveness research that includes personalized medicine, paving the way for a new era of individualized care in a more patient-focused health system," researchers said.

The report predicts:

• There will be a transformation in how doctors are paid – changing from the current volume-based system to one that is outcome-based;

• Innovative approaches to preventing and managing chronic disease, such as diabetes, will rein in one of the largest drivers of healthcare costs;

• The use of technology to improve access to care will finally become reality with the advent of smart phones, telemedicine, remote medical monitoring, online consultations and educational health chat rooms;

• Diagnostic tests based on human genome research will become commonplace, leading to the targeted use of medicines on patients who have DNA shown to be responsive to certain medicines and cutting costs on wasted drugs and unwanted side effects in patients for whom those drugs are ineffective;

• New behavior modification approaches will be employed as the responsibility for health management shifts to the consumer while the government, insurers and employers seek more effective solutions for curbing costs.

"If patients are not engaged, it is impossible to adequately manage care, consumption and spending," said Kelly A. Barnes, health industries leader at PwC.

"The overarching challenge for our health system will be to shift the internal focus from the siloed bureaucratic healthcare infrastructure that exists today to one that puts patients at the center of care and engages them to take charge of their health over their entire lifetime," Barnes added.

The PwC survey found most health leaders suggest greater awareness and education as a way to lead changes how patients manage their health. They also suggest changing incentives to improve partnerships among physicians, their patients and employers.