Does Your Business Model Work in a Modern Medical Setting?

With the recent changes in health insurance laws and the opening of many new healthcare facilities, it is important that medical administrators create and adhere to an operational model that will allow them to compete effectively in the new healthcare environment. In some cases, this means making drastic changes. 

The Harvard Business Review recently posted a very informative piece addressing this circumstance. The article, The Biggest U.S. Health Care Challenges Are Management Challenges, was written by Paul Merrild, Senior Vice President, Enterprise Solutions at athenahealth.

According to Merrild, a recent survey conducted by athenahealth had some interesting, if somewhat surprising, results. While more than 70 percent of the 150 healthcare executives surveyed believed that their organization was well-poised for future success, more than half also stated that their operational model was in need of change and disruption. This, states Merrild, showed “a remarkable portrait of courage – a willingness to abandon the status quo in favor of an uncertain path.”

This attitude makes sense as the Affordable Care Act requires a measure of reform, and healthcare facilities are increasingly expected to improve the quality of patient care while cutting operational costs. Because of this, business models that have worked quite well for the last several years are not likely to sustain success in the current atmosphere.

You can read more about the challenges ahead as well as how some executives are planning to deal with them by reading the full article here.