The year 2020 was a challenging one for healthcare providers around the world. Public healthcare systems in several countries were overwhelmed, patients cut down on discretionary healthcare, and medical tourism ground to a standstill.

In many ways, Covid-19 represented a perfect storm for both public and private healthcare providers. This year looks to be another challenging one. Countries are moving forward with vaccinations, and eagerly awaiting post-pandemic life.

Yet, agile response to Covid-19 will remain a priority for healthcare providers over the next 12 to 18 months, as restrictions and responses continue to evolve. At Boston Consulting Group (BCG), we believe there are five themes that will define this new normal:

1. Enhanced public-private sector collaboration

It is a harsh reality that public and private healthcare systems in most of Asean are distinct and cater to different patient segments. Covid-19 has revealed the need to enhance public-private sector collaboration in healthcare, as private-sector capacities remain underutilised while public institutions struggle with patient load.

Welcome private-public partnerships have emerged across the region, for example, private hospitals donating equipment to public hospitals and treating non-Covid-19 patients — and even Covid-19 patients in some countries.

Efforts should now be undertaken to transform this crisis-driven partnership into a sustainable long-term model, allowing equitable health outcomes for all while ensuring appropriate financial reward for private-sector operators.

Realising this vision will require a whole-ecosystem approach. Governments will need to increase healthcare spending, offer concessions and provide tax rebates. Service and equipment providers will need to deliver effective yet affordable solutions. Private providers will need to innovate unique “public” offerings and adapt operating models to become leaner.

2. Digitalised patient encounters

The pandemic triggered rapid adoption of telehealth services as patients sought safe ways to access care and became increasingly comfortable with digital-first journeys.

There is now clear recognition that digitalising encounters improves patient experience and reduces staff workloads. Now is the time to leverage this accelerating trend.

Necessitated by the pandemic, many providers rightly rushed through temporary telehealth solutions, often with sub-optimal user interfaces and performance.

These were “quick-fix” builds, rendering them unsustainable as long-term technology solutions. This will need to be improved. Providers will need to turbo-charge their “digital front door” efforts, beginning with streamlining routine patient interactions like medical FAQs, doctor discovery, scheduling, payments and refills.

Deepening technology investments will be an important part of the response in order to build future-ready resilience. Investment in integrating telehealth platforms with electronic health records and evolving payment systems will be important.

Partnership between healthcare providers, insurers and governments to obtain telehealth reimbursement will need to emerge. In parallel, hospitals will need to revamp processes to support telehealth to streamline patient experience and minimise waste.

Well before the pandemic, hospitals had been experimenting with delivering care outside their sites. This trend is being accelerated by patient preferences shaped by Covid-19, and the site of care will continue to shift from inpatient to at-home or ambulatory settings.

Ambulatory care allows patients to avoid long-distance travel; offers enhanced flexibility over fixed hospital hours, greater personalised care and contact with care teams; and prevents the risk of exposure to hospital infections. It also allows hospitals to deliver low-cost and lean operations.

Many commentators are now questioning if hospitals will remain the hub of care in future. While it seems unlikely that such a radical shift would take place, hospitals will need to rethink their business models towards fewer physical offerings focused on high-acuity, complex cases, while increasing at-home or ambulatory care offerings.

4. Transformed operations and cost structures

Elective care growth for private providers may remain muted for some time. Cost pressures on public healthcare systems will likely increase due to growing health demands and macroeconomic challenges.

Hence, doubling down on operational excellence will remain a key priority for providers. It is time for private providers to have a fitter, leaner operation that is better able to adapt to uncertainty.

While traditional value levers of procurement and outsourcing will continue to remain relevant, providers should also work to implement lean clinical operations and dynamic supply chain management that can rapidly respond to change.

Data-driven approaches to manage care and streamline clinical and administrative operations will need to be considered. Incorporating insight from patient visits, admissions and real-time monitoring can not only improve patient outcomes, but also inform decision-making to make clinical protocols and care pathways more efficient. Building the right technological foundation to enable this decision-making will be an important cornerstone for hospitals in future.

The optimisation of care pathways and processes will need to be supported by deployment of new ways of working. Adjusting staff activities to reconfigure administrative and non-clinical spaces, ensuring clinician support to transition between virtual and in-person care, and developing compensation models to maintain quality and efficiency regardless of mode of care, will all be important.

5. More equitable distribution of healthcare

Covid-19 has brought renewed attention to the stark and long-standing inequality in healthcare access and provision. With the most vulnerable populations being impacted most acutely by the pandemic, governments are increasingly recognising the need to ensure more equitable distribution of healthcare.

In some Western markets, healthcare systems are increasingly investing in tackling the social determinants of health outcomes such as housing, employment, education and nutrition.

Private investment in a “reimagined” primary care environment is also increasing in anticipation of shifting consumer spend. With its more limited spending capacity, this trend will take time to play out across Asean.

When it does, it could trigger more targeted public-sector spend focusing on preventative healthcare and the most vulnerable populations, while unlocking exciting opportunities for private-sector participation.

Providers will need to remain watchful of such opportunities and move early as and when the opportunities arise.

A healthy future for healthcare

The themes above highlight a critical, but not exclusive, list of priorities for healthcare providers.

The question of actively restoring patient confidence to rekindle faith in the safety of healthcare settings will also remain a critical imperative. The rebound from Covid-19 will largely be determined by the efficacy and timescale of vaccine deployment. The healthcare industry is not simply a slave to that truth.

History tells us that organisations that invest in innovation during a crisis outperform their peers in the recovery. With the right planning, technology adoption and smart process evolution, the industry could stage a powerful recovery ahead.

Embracing change is the right medicine for Asean's healthcare providers

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