Illustrations by Laura Placenti
Spiraling costs and increasing demands are transforming today’s healthcare system.
As a result, new winds of change are challenging the status quo and replacing the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach to care.
A Perfect Storm
The global healthcare market is experiencing the perfect storm. Spiraling costs, rising incidence of chronic conditions, physician shortages and increased consumer-patient expectations are forcing the transformation of a broken system.
MedTech and insurgent brands are uniquely positioned to unbundle traditional care models, with on-demand, integrated health and wellness ecosystems that deliver better outcomes at lower costs.
Investors and healthcare companies alike, recognize the disruptive potential of MedTech to destroy existing profit pools and create new forms of value. The global MedTech and medical device market is predicted to reach $947M, with a 21.6% CAGR by 2030.
As increased VC investment and M&A activity have accelerated innovation and the application of technology within traditional lines-of-businesses, emerging players outside of healthcare are using the utility of their brand as an asset, to dissolve industry boundaries and redefine the healthcare landscape. Non-traditional healthcare brands, including Amazon, Apple and CVS Health are expected to take as much as 30% of the current market from incumbent healthcare companies by 2030.
Payers and providers recognize it is no longer a question of “if” the healthcare system will change… but rather how quickly will it be transformed. In response, they are forming unlikely alliances to accelerate change, access new capabilities and remove avoidable costs. In some cases, these partnerships result in joint ventures and entirely new companies that think and act like an insurgent. Together, they can use their scale and incumbent advantage, to lead the transformation of a new care model.
A New Model of Care
Fueled by private capital, Value-Based Care has evolved from a focus on costs, in a fee-for-services healthcare system, to improved quality of care, increased performance and a connected consumer-patient experience.
In tomorrow’s world, “care” is driven by a new model that values outcomes over profits, by placing consumer-patients in the center of care, giving them greater access and more control of their health and wellness than ever before.
Let’s meet Sam, a cancer patient living in 2030.
- Sam sees her physician every morning, but never goes into an office… she discusses her progress, symptoms and concerns with a virtual care team.
- Sam receives targeted therapies and personalized medicine, based on her genetic profile and characteristics of her cancer.
- Sam’s physician can alter the therapeutic composition of her medicine remotely, so she can 3D print her treatment protocols as needed.
- Sam’s wearable devices and home monitoring system continuously tracks her vital signs, blood parameters, and other important health indicators for potential side effects or complications.
- Sam’s data is transmitted to her oncology team in real-time, allowing for proactive intervention and daily adjustments to her treatment plan.
- Sam’s virtual avatar continuously monitors her daily progress, and provides gentle nudges for medical adherence, diet and exercise.
- Sam attends virtual counseling sessions with a mindfulness coach to help address the emotional and psychological aspects of her cancer.
- Sam and her physician agree to specific outcomes she would like to achieve, and her payer seamlessly orchestrates payment in the background.
Every step of Sam’s treatment is enabled by new technologies that become her personal algorithm for life. Over time, Sam seamlessly moves throughout her day without fear, knowing a connected army of smart agents and physicians are tirelessly fighting cancer on her behalf.
Importantly, it’s not any one technology that is driving this new model of care, but the convergence of 6 Big Shifts layered in our digital and physical world that will personalize, unbundle, connect, automate, monitor and predict the way we engage, giving us unprecedented control over our health and wellness.
01 Smart Agents
Connected and always on
Seamless Automation
Smart systems will automate routine administrative tasks, streamline scheduling, reduce wait times, and optimize provider schedules so healthcare professionals can focus on what matters.
Smart devices and wearables collect and analyze data in real-time, monitoring vital signs, adherence to medication and lifestyle factors, providing a holistic view of our health outside traditional settings.
Generative AI and ML identify patterns and risk factors, learning our behavior for early prediction of chronic disease and enhanced adherence to specialized treatments.
02 Alternative Settings
From hospitals to ‘anywhere’ care
Localized Health Hubs
Retailers are stepping in to fill the demand for more cost-effective care, offering self-pay options with transparent and fixed pricing, they are well positioned to meet the preference for convenience with their existing physical locations; retailers saw a 200% increase in utilization over the past five years – higher than primary care, urgent care and hospital emergency rooms.
The rise of telemedicine, remote monitoring and rapid diagnostic tests, are accelerating home-based services, across the full continuum of care, from chronic to wellness; design and technology will be applied to the best of MedTech’s core competencies: engineering, regulatory and therapeutic knowledge to drive the care delivery models of the future.
‘Best-in-class’ destinations for specialty care, e.g., Oncology, often outside of local geographies will become part of contracted services –members and employers will gravitate toward these models because they deliver a specialized service at dramatically better cost, quality and experience.
03 Platform Ecosystems
Multisided services with network effects
Integrated Delivery
An integrated marketplace of providers, payers, pharma and technology developers encourages collaboration among diverse stakeholders, and empowers consumer-patients to actively participate in their care journey with greater access and control.
Advanced analytics and AI processes vast amounts of healthcare data to identify trends, anticipate disease outbreaks, and model personalized therapeutics and treatment plans based on individual patient needs.
The speed of change can only be matched by an interconnected, open system that harnesses the power of software developers to accelerate innovation, transform the experience and rapidly on and off-board ecosystem partners to meet ever changing consumer-patient expectations.
04 Payer Orchestrators
Orchestration and delivery of coordinated care
One-of-a-Kind Plans
Monolithic healthcare plans are unbundled, as consumers seek care and coverage at specific ‘purchase occasions’ without the financial burden of a traditional plan; one-of-a-kind plans are personalized for each member based on behavior, risk factors, and desired health and wellness outcomes.
AI/ML integration with back-end provider systems automates workflows — claims and eligibility billing — for real-time processing, quicker payments, and improved accuracy while lowering administrative costs and improving the consumer-patient experience.
Payers increasingly recognize the role of interoperable data as a single source of truth to be exchanged and monetized like a currency for better patient outcomes, research, clinical trials, and the diagnosis and treatment of acute chronic conditions.
05 Rise of Insurgents
Transforming the healthcare landscape
Non-traditional Insurgents
Non-traditional insurgents are challenging the status-quo by leveraging their physical store network and equity of the brand to consumerize healthcare, from remote and virtual care to innovative new business models and digital platforms that shift the axis of control away from incumbents.
Venture is funding the transformation of healthcare through innovative initiatives in MedTech, biotech, medical devices, and digital health that is redefining the competitive landscape, accelerating the pace of change and creating new forms of value.
PE is both a response and an accelerator to disruptive trends fueled by 3-7 year ‘buy-sell’ cycles that consolidate markets, alters the workforce, and drives operational value to invest in technology and infrastructure that creates better consumer-patient and economic outcomes.
06 Whole Genome
Unlocking human potential
Precision Medicine
Technological advances are enabling a shift in treatment protocols that are tailored to each patient’s genetic makeup, environment, and lifestyle, representing a patient-centric paradigm shift in medicine. As technology and data continue to advance, precision medicine based on your specific condition will be the expectation.
Whole genome sequencing unlocks detailed analysis of your DNA, identifying genetic markers and health risks to align therapies with specific genetic characteristics and predispositions, for more personalized medicine and targeted interventions based on genetic makeup.
Advances in Gen AI and quantum computing will unlock new insights from genomic data, driving further innovation in healthcare and biomedical research, to fundamentally change our approach to genetic disorders and conditions, moving us beyond treatment to the realm of enhancement, prevention and the ability to live beyond physical means.
Each shift brings uncertainties and profound opportunities to innovate and disrupt the healthcare system as we know it. Like other industries that have gone through a transformation, think retail banking 10 years ago, consumers embrace change at a staggering pace. In this new consumer-patient centric model, the pace of change gets a little faster every day and more difficult for incumbent organizations to keep up.
To thrive in this turbulent environment requires a different way of thinking.
Introducing Interbrand’s approach: a new health and wellness innovator and brand builder that helps our clients reimagine the possible, do the improbable, and chart the trajectory to value-based care.
We have worked with an extensive range of healthcare companies across traditional lines of business – payers, providers, employers – as well as insurgent and emerging brands – to understand how the 6 Big Shifts can accelerate change, innovate for growth, and help to capture a piece of the $1T enterprise value at stake. How can we help you use the 6 Big Shifts to reimagine the possible, do the improbable and chart the trajectory to value-based care?
Look for our full report launching soon on the disruptive forces shaping the future of healthcare.
Ready to learn more?
Meet the Authors
James Wright
Executive Strategy Director
William Woduschegg
Executive Creative Director
References
Grand View Research, Global Digital Health Market Size & Outlook, 2023-2030
Bain & Company, New models of primary care will capture 30% of the US market by 2030 as retailers, payer-owned providers and advanced primary care disruptors gain traction
McKinsey & Company, Investing in the new era of value-based care