To date, relatively few healthcare organizations have adopted telehealth. Ironically, one of the reasons often cited is the perceived “non-personal” nature of the technology, but that perception is beginning to change, says zu Putlitz. “Doctors, especially those affiliated with larger healthcare systems, are starting to appreciate all the benefits that come from additional information and all the things that technology can do for them,” he says. “Clearly, there’s still reluctance from doctors who feel that this technology might take away from the patient-doctor relationship, but once they see how teleheatlh actually enables them to take care of their patients in a better, more efficient way, they change their minds.”

No one has to convince the Veterans Health Administration, which runs the largest and one of the most cost-effective healthcare systems in the United States, about the merits of telehealth. The VA has been a Bosch customer for 11 years and just extended its contract for another five years. “The VA is absolutely a trailblazer in the use of analytics and telehealth,” zu Putlitz says. “What they are doing with our technology is clearly impressive. They published a study linking telehealth and 17,000 VA patients with chronic disease that showed a tremendous impact – nearly a 20 percent reduction in hospital admissions.”. (For more on telehealth in this issue, click here.)

Bottom Line on Healthcare Reform

The transformation of U.S. healthcare from volume-based system to a value-based system – with the goal of improving efficiency, access and outcomes while reducing costs – demands the realignment of stakeholder incentives and the development of a new payment structure that rewards those collective goals for all concerned.

“The changes that are taking place at the national level are fundamentally changing the way the healthcare system is organized and aligned,” says ICC’s Conti. “Whether it’s a healthcare system, an insurance company or a pharmaceutical company, all three of these players can no longer function in silos. They are going to be aligning themselves in a way that lowers the cost for the entire system and drives value for the individual patient.”

“It’s in the interest of both providers and payers to change their business model to fit the new environment,” says Kaiser Permanente’s Chow. “Costs concerns, resource restraints, increasing demand, better technology – all of these factors will cause change. The people who survive will be the people who can figure out how to adapt. Many consumers are ready to accept a new model of care. Eventually it will have to happen. We don’t have enough doctors and nurses. We don’t have the resources to keep charging for things that we can’t pay for.”

“When healthcare becomes more analytics-based and maybe a little less subjective on a population level, there will be savings and there will be efficiency gains,” adds Bosch’s zu Putlitz. “The payer (insurer) is almost naturally incentivized to do it because the savings would show up where the risk is sitting. The provider side – doctors and hospitals – will see better outcomes. Improving the care of patients is a very strong argument, and it’s a way for providers to differentiate themselves in a crowded, competitive market. Providers are talking to us because they are being held accountable and need to demonstrate quality and value in this new environment.”

And what about the patient, the presumed focus of healthcare reform in the first place?

“If we do it right and healthcare organizations really use advanced analytics to drive better access, quality and outcomes, you as a patient are going to derive more value from the healthcare system,” Conti concludes. “Along with better care and better outcomes, you will get more value for every dollar you spend on healthcare, whether it’s on a doctor, a pill or an insurance plan. The ultimate metric is ‘health per dollar.’ Over time, that will become the gold standard for healthcare.”

Along those same lines, entrepreneur/technologist Palmer gets the last word: “Five years from now we’re going to look back and realize that the companies that adopted predictive and prescriptive analytics are the ones that are going to have a significant advantage in the market. And I think there is no more important application of these high-end analytical technologies and capabilities than developing new, more effective therapies and improving healthcare for patients.”

This article was originally published in Analytics magazine.