Healthcare Is Changing, Right? Here’s 5 Reasons It’s Not.

Jun 02, 2023

by Kayt Leonard, Global Health Care and Life Sciences Strategic Advisor at SAS 06/07/2023 Leave a Comment

We hear it every day, right? Articles and headlines touting "the healthcare industry is constantly evolving and changing" to be more consumer-focused and patient-centric. But is that really all that true? While ideas of innovation, news articles of the next big thing, and healthcare conferences are more exciting than actual healthcare improvements, tangible change feels…. questionable.

We can all hope for a better future, but the reality is that a number of issues continue to hold back progress and hinder improvements in patient care in the present – and that's not okay. Here are the five biggest healthcare obstacles standing in the way of meaningful change – and what organizations should be doing about them:

Organizations need to work together to bridge the gap between where they currently stand and where they need to be to ensure their patients receive the best care possible.

And to achieve this goal, it's going to take the entire ecosystem and every group that touches healthcare. Employers must invest in modern technology solutions, providers have to re-engage – and question – protocols and guidelines, insurers have to start reducing bureaucratic policies, and patients have to feel encouraged, enabled, and empowered to take ownership over their own health outcomes.

While all that sounds difficult, we have do have a clear path forward: the technology that we need to help drive those changes, and bridge those gaps, already exist. The technology systems and HR platforms that employers need to invest in are already on the market, but the investment isn't happening. The natural-language processing systems that analyze patient narratives to review against protocol? It already exists and is being used in fragment. The payment integrity systems to ensure payers, providers, and patients have transparent, fair pricing? Organizations have been relying on that information in pockets across the ecosystem for decades.

We’re all talking about making the change, and it's past time we move from conversation, to action. We have to take the existing technology, and push for better, more consistent, and more transparent adoption. We – collectively, we – need to make the investments that matter for the long-term and pay up to see the improvements that will ultimately deliver better outcomes for patients.

After all, Patients don't expect the system to be perfect but we all, including leaders in the space, do expect to see progress. And that progress? It's time to speed up.

About Kayt LeonardKayt Leonard is a Global Health Care and Life Sciences Strategic Advisor at SAS and leads Market Strategy and Engagement within the Health Care and Life Sciences Practice. Prior to joining SAS, Leonard worked across the industry with payers, providers, physicians, and pharmaceutical organizations. Leonard's research in health equity, disparities, and global health care access has been recognized by the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control, the Food and Drug Administration, and the European Medicines Agency.

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