This week, PricewaterhouseCoopers came out with a report on remaking primary care for what the consulting form called “the New Health Economy.” We would have covered it straight up on Wednesday, but a certain provider-focused health IT reporter at MedCity News was busy at the American Medical Informatics Association conference.
Since it’s not breaking news anymore, we have to take a different angle. A major component of the future of primary care, according to PwC, will be digital health.
“Digital health is the buzzword now, but it’s a true change in the business model for primary care,” said Vaughn Kauffman, PwC’s global leader for new entrants in healthcare markets.
“We look at digital beyond the wearable or the app,” Kauffman explained. “Digital and virtual care centers will be taking the pressure off the primary care physician shortage.”
Here are seven things about digital health that PwC found in its survey of consumers and physicians:
- Consumers no longer require face time with their physicians; 60 percent said they would be willing to try a virtual doctor’s visit.
- 50 percent of consumers would use a do-it-yourself diagnostic test for conditions including urinary-tract infections and strep throat.
- 31 percent could consider a wearable device for monitoring vital signs.
- Today, just 10 percent of medical professionals now treat patients with the help of remote monitoring devices.
- However, 85 percent of doctors said that primary care physicians in the future embrace wearables and mobile apps. Kauffman said that doctors still have to overcome their doubts about the reliability and medical relevance of the data captured from such tools.
- 42 percent of physicians said they would prescribe medicines based on certain types of DIY tests.
- 16 percent of physicians already have or are in the process of acquiring technology for teleconsultations.
Kauffman said that primary practices in some ways are becoming “command centers” for health management, albeit slowly. “The shift to a value-based [payment] model is driving it,” he said. “Here in the U.S., 2014 was the turning point,” based on the opinions of technology vendors that PwC surveyed.
A Deep-dive Into Specialty Pharma
A specialty drug is a class of prescription medications used to treat complex, chronic or rare medical conditions. Although this classification was originally intended to define the treatment of rare, also termed “orphan” diseases, affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the US, more recently, specialty drugs have emerged as the cornerstone of treatment for chronic and complex diseases such as cancer, autoimmune conditions, diabetes, hepatitis C, and HIV/AIDS.
The consulting firm cited an estimate from the American Telemedicine Association that the number of Americans who receive virtual care will double this year, to 24 million in 2014 from 12 million a year ago.
Here’s a graphic from the report showing that primary care practices are working with or plan to work with telecommunications companies more than other new entrants into the healthcare industry — even more than medical device manufactures. This, PwC said, shows the growing importance of remote and virtual care.
Images: Grand Rounds, PricewaterhouseCoopers
