Research

Exploring the organization, financing and delivery of healthcare.

Insights

Harvard Business Review | APR 10, 2023

Health Care Systems Need to Better Understand Patients as Consumers  

Conventional measures that health systems use to attract and retain patients are inadequate. For instance, hospital NPS and HCAHPS scores are not reliable indicators of what patients will do in the future. Instead, health care systems need to look at what patients actually do and incorporate that information into strategic planning. With the likes of Amazon and CVS moving into their space, health systems must become more sophisticated in the ways they use data to understand patients’ behavior and what drives their decisions.

The Hill | MAR 21, 2023

How to Ensure Social Determinants of Health Actually Improve Health Care  

Despite the current state of low adoption, federal and state policy efforts continue to double down on the importance of improving documentation and measurement of social factors, including the CDC’s release of additional Z codes (effective April 1, 2023). The exacerbation of health inequities on full display during the COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly supports the rationale behind these policy initiatives and the continued focus on improved measurement. Even so, policymakers continue to overlook a critical point: facilitating access does not guarantee adoption.

The Hill | DEC 12, 2022

Undiagnosed Cancer Could Be The Next Health Crisis - And We Aren’t Ready  

The quarterly share of new patients at oncology providers nationwide is stabilizing above pre-pandemic levels, indicating that new cancer diagnoses are becoming even more prevalent than they were prior to 2020. The current data paint an ominous landscape of the future of cancer care and indicate that the drop in screenings and preventive measures may be more than just a temporary byproduct of the pandemic.

HLTH | SEP 12, 2022

Strategies to Win Healthcare's Zero Sum Game

In the current “shrinking pie” in which health economy stakeholders find themselves – with a growing number of suppliers competing for the same, decreasing set of customers – the only way to maintain a dominant industry position - or perhaps merely survive - is to take customers from other stakeholders. To win healthcare’s negative-sum game, health economy stakeholders must understand the changing industry dynamics and economic principles behind them, and design targeted, competitive strategies to account for them – in part by focusing on the following key strategies.

The Hill | APR 6, 2022

The Misalignment Between Telehealth Policy and Funding Versus Who Actually Uses it Is Epic

Since the public health emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic began, telehealth has been positioned as a leading solution to health care access challenges. But the utilization data tells a more nuanced story about how telehealth is actually being used today (and by whom), and whether the latest policy measures and funding figures are right-sized to market realities.

Fast Company | MAR 18, 2022

Data Show Telehealth is More of a Luxury Good Right Now

Our healthcare system has a long way to go before the full potential of telehealth is realized.

MobiHealthNews | MAR 4, 2022

Health Systems Will Be Challenged to Compete in a Commoditized Telehealth Market

As more competitors enter an already oversupplied telehealth market, gaining consumer loyalty will be even harder, especially when competing against brands like Walmart and Amazon.

Medical Economics | JAN 25, 2022

Doctor’s Office or Dollar General? How increased choice will impact patient loyalty

Traditional retailers and large tech companies are the most recent and potentially most disruptive entrants to the traditional “doctor’s office,” providing consumers with more choices in how and where to receive healthcare.

STAT News First Opinion | NOV 10, 2021

Understanding Health Care Consumer Preferences is Key to Effective Covid-19 Vaccination Messaging

Health care, like politics, is local. The performance of certain procedures or the prevalence of particular conditions vary from community to community. So do individuals’ preferences on how they choose to obtain care. One thing that doesn’t vary as much is the trust people have in their providers.

MedPage Today | JUN 11, 2021

It's Still About the Cost of Healthcare

The issue hasn't gone away, even if COVID temporarily shifted the focus.

AJMC | JAN 17, 2021

Contributor: 3 Key Questions for the Biden Administration and the 117th Congress Coming Out of the COVID-19 Crisis

The incoming Biden administration will be challenged to address flex capacity, the supply chain, and real-time data as we transition from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) response to durable recovery.

AJMC | MAR 5, 2019

Effective Population Health Care Delivery Under Medicare’s Merit-based Incentive Payment System: Realigning Accountability With Capability

Current population health efforts have been hampered by the misalignment of accountability. Thus, population health management will improve when shared accountability among stakeholders is achieved.

AJMC | JAN 17, 2018

MACRA Continues to Catalyze Movement Towards Value

Given 2018 marks the last year of transition-year policies, implementation challenges identified during the first 2 years of Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, preparation and execution must be addressed to ensure effectiveness.

HFMA | JUL 17, 2017

Survey Reveals Opportunities for Physician MACRA Education

Hospitals and health systems should view quality payment programs as opportunities to build alignment among physicians and support for value-based goals.

Health Economy Trends

With more than 110 data-driven analyses, the 2022 annual Trends Shaping the Health Economy report sheds light on the past, contextualizes the present, and predicts the future of the $4.1T health economy, highlighting 13 macro trends that the pandemic has significantly amplified or accelerated. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages national all-payer claims data.

This study highlights 8 macro trends to explore how the pandemic altered behavioral health diagnosis and treatment in America through the lens of supply, demand and yield. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages national all-payer claims data.

This study presents the characteristics of and applications relevant to identifying similar markets by Growth, Economics, Demographics, Consumers and Competition. Click to read more.

This study presents a longitudinal analysis of the ways in which Americans utilized telehealth from March 1, 2020, through November 30, 2021. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages national all-payer claims data.

This inaugural annual trends report provides a national analysis of demand, supply and yield components impacting the $4T health economy. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages national all-payer claims data.

This study examines how health systems are pursuing innovation in the urgent care market and their preparedness for success in a more competitive, consumer-driven marketplace. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages survey data collected from health system C-suite and senior executives.

This study identifies health systems’ priorities, strategies, and challenges regarding the patient financial experience. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages survey data collected from health system C-suite and senior executives.

This study describes key trends across incoming CEOs for the top 200 Leading Health Systems (LHS) in the U.S., comparing LHS 200 cohorts to their S&P 250 counterparts across core metrics of interest. Click to read more.

This study examines innovation priorities, underlying organizational structures, and scaling mechanisms among the nation’s largest health systems. Click to read more.

Note: Leverages survey data collected from health system C-suite and senior executives.

Read more about emerging data-driven trends in The Compass