Companies that drive the post-pandemic economy, according to the American Hospital Association, will move beyond transactional, episodic connections with patients and may instead rely on subscription-based products.
Patients are asking that things change. According to the research “ConnectedEconomyTM: Omnichannel Healthcare Takes Center Stage,” U.S. customers began utilizing digital channels to engage with their healthcare providers, and they have continued to use patient portals, telemedicine technology, and mobile applications ever since. To get healthcare services, 46 percent of them — an estimated 119 million — now utilize a combination of traditional in-person and digital choices.
And the subscription business model has the ability to provide such alternatives at a reasonable cost. As new participants continue to enter the healthcare sector, anticipate them to arrange and offer services using the subscription business model. They may engage with customers in ways that are so simple that we have yet to envision them. They will also employ the subscription model to cultivate a loyal consumer base and a consistent cash flow.
Not a Revolution, but an Evolution
Payers, especially those in the public sector, want a solution that streamlines healthcare delivery and financing while enabling ubiquitous but inexpensive access. And the pattern has been building for years.
The subscription model evolved from Kaiser Permanente’s health maintenance organization (HMO) idea in the 1970s and 1980s. The approach gained popularity among businesses seeking steady, predictable employee healthcare expenditures. However, employees objected to the restricted number of physicians, therapies, and treatments available, and the model evolved into the Preferred Provider Organization (PPO) idea, which enables patients to pick providers outside of their plan’s network, although at a higher out-of-pocket expense.
Concierge care is a relatively new approach to primary care. Patients pay a monthly, quarterly, or yearly fee for unrestricted access to a primary care physician under this approach. This usually involves rather unrestricted telehealth access. Employee benefits packages have yet to adopt this concept.
