Top Eight Health Industry Issues in 2008

A report by PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute

For the first time since President Bill Clinton was elected in 1992, the topic of healthcare is the most important domestic issue facing the U.S. population. That means health industry executives will spend much of 2008 discussing, being questioned about, and analyzing how the federal government could affect access, cost, and quality of the current system. In addition to speculating on the implications of the 2008 presidential election, the industry also must adjust to some substantive changes that occurred in 2007. Pharmaceutical and life sciences companies must adapt to a new safety agenda from the FDA, while hospitals will be adjusting to new Medicare MS-DRGs, which could affect their future strategy. For all of the industry, 2008 will be a pivotal year to both react and anticipate.

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute (HRI) has identified areas of concern for health executives and policy makers in the coming year. To provide research-based insight, PwC commissioned a survey of 1,000 consumers and reviewed recent publications from industry and the government. To get the broadest possible input from PwC’s network of business advisors, HRI employed an innovative tool called the PwC Thought-Wiki, which is based on similar technology that powers Wikipedia®, an online encyclopedia. This tool incorporated a new level of collaborative authoring and knowledge sharing into HRI’s content development, resulting in the following Health Research Institute picks for the top health industry issues in 2008.

1. Give and Take: Significant changes in the way hospitals bill Medicare will create some winners and some losers.

2. Silver Bullet: Renewed focus is on the FDA’s drug safety initiatives.

3. The Doctor Is In: A surge in the number of retail clinics will force states, payers, and policy makers to think about the right model for the delivery of primary care.

4. Flying Solo: The market for individual health insurance could take off.

5. Breaking the Bank: Retirees are playing a greater role in funding their healthcare coverage—whether they like it or not.

6. I Think I Love You: Big pharmaceutical companies will keep buying and collaborating with life sciences companies to stock their pipelines.

7. Putting Their Hearts on Their Sleeves: This year, hospitals publicly report their corporate responsibility.

8. The Land of Golden Opportunities: Asia is poised to be the largest pharmaceutical consumer and pharmaceutical producer in the world.

Conclusion
Healthcare is in the forefront of the collective American mind this year, more so than it has been in over a decade. As consumers are given more responsibility over healthcare decisions—from insurance to drugs to provider options—health executives will be expected to publicly convey their industry’s quality, safety, and affordability. New government standards are being implemented to encourage such disclosure, and it is up to health executives to anticipate what will be required of them and to proactively address those requirements. Such communication is essential to the healthcare industry’s future success.