From the emergence of non-traditional care providers to heightening patient expectations, hospitals face an increasingly dynamic landscape. And their labs and pharmacies, critical to care delivery, stand squarely in the midst of it. Despite the apparent challenges, however, there are opportunities.
On June 14, 2023, Dr. Kyu Rhee, former senior vice president and Aetna Chief Medical Officer at CVS Health joined Dean Braun, senior vice president with OmniSYS, XiFin Pharmacy Solutions, and Jane Hermansen, manager of outreach and network development at Mayo Clinic, to discuss exactly that—the evolving roles of hospital laboratories and outpatient pharmacies in today’s environment of rapid innovation and focus on patient-centricity.
As a panel, they covered several key topics, including:
- Assessing the impact of new technology and investments by tech companies and retailers in primary care and pharmacy
- Adapting to technological advancements and innovative solutions to enhance hospital labs and pharmacy operations, improve patient care, and drive efficiency using Big Data, analytics, and artificial intelligence (AI)
- Building strategic partnerships and collaborating with retailers and technology companies
- Enhancing the patient and provider experience by leveraging technology and patient-centric approaches for seamless, personalized care
- Increasing profitability by identifying new opportunities for revenue generation and cost savings while ensuring quality healthcare outcomes
Addressed first were how newer entrants to the healthcare market—including large technology companies and retailers such as Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon, and Walmart—impact hospital outpatient laboratories, diagnostic services providers, and pharmacies. These non-traditional healthcare organizations heavily leverage Big Data to better understand consumers, which is valuable as patients continue to become increasingly engaged in their healthcare. And according to a poll conducted during the session, only 16% of attendees said they had a strategy and plan to account for the changes their presence is bringing.
There is clearly an important role for these non-traditional healthcare organizations to serve as partners and collaborators with hospitals, labs, and pharmacies to capitalize on the consumerism trends evolving across the healthcare landscape. It is also important, however, for hospitals to be better connected with primary care providers, home health providers, and telehealth providers in this new consumer-centric environment.
The panel also addressed how traditional providers, including hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies can better serve patients in today’s distributed healthcare model. The integration of healthcare data plays a pivotal role in facilitating the evolution of distributed healthcare. Laboratories and hospitals provide a tremendous amount of data, which is used across the full continuum of care. This data helps ensure that every provider serving a patient has the most complete view possible of their healthcare journey, an absolute necessity for more efficient, more effective care—from diagnostics to treatment, monitoring, and disease prevention.
“Data is the new oil. We need to [transform technology from] cost centers into insight centers to [ensure] that the data helps impact the decisions that key stakeholders make.” – Dr. Kyu Rhee
Data is the currency in healthcare today. With companion diagnostics, patients’ engaging directly with their medical data (for example, through wearables) to monitor and modify their health-related behaviors, driving information to patients to manage their own health is one of the important trends in individualizing medicine. Pharmacies are also extending their scope with patients by offering point-of-care testing and other on-demand services for patients.
There is a clear symbiosis between labs and pharmacies. Laboratories play four important roles in supporting:
- Diagnosis
- Determining the appropriate treatment or therapy
- Monitoring the effectiveness of the prescribed treatment
- Prevention
Consider a prediabetic patient an example of this relationship model. Based on the diagnostics, pharmacists can reach out to patients and offer education and other services to help prevent disease progression. Primary care providers and specialists rely on laboratories and pharmacies to help ensure patients are achieving the expected outcomes of the prescribed therapies while managing any side effects. This close collaboration among primary care providers, laboratories, and pharmacies is essential to deliver on the potential of value-based care initiatives.
Finally, the panel discussed how hospitals and health systems can increase profitability while preserving the quality of care and driving health equity. The bottom line from the panel is: “No Margin, No Mission.” To provide patients with safe, timely, equitable, effective, and efficient care, hospitals and health systems need the technology, tools, and services to optimize efficiency, reimbursement, and utilization. By capitalizing on the opportunities within the current landscape, labs and outpatient pharmacies can help their hospitals do exactly that.
For further insights from the panel as to how your hospital can take advantage of these evolving trends, you can watch a recording of the full webinar.