This month's cover story focuses on healthcare, a topic and an industry sector we focus on quite a bit here at Consulting magazine. Our last cover story on the topic was July 2012, an eternity in healthcare. A lot can happen—and did happen—in two years. Our last pulse check came right as the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the Affordable Care Act's mandate was constitutional. Do you remember that little bit of judicial drama?
This time, we're not focused so much on the ACA but rather an inevitable macroeconomic problem—a large chunk of federal discretionary money goes to Medicare and Medicaid, which provide the largest component of healthcare provider reimbursement. Those programs are going to have to get fixed and providers recognize that it may end up happening on their shoulders.
The provider sector is clearly facing a period of uncertainty. Meanwhile, ask healthcare consulting leaders today how their offerings have changed in the past 24 months they'll launch into animated spiels that reveal both the challenges and opportunities before them.
This time around we focus the surgeon's scalpel (sorry!) on the upheaval, transformation and disruption that define the delicate and chaotic state of the industry. Even amid some very good news, the state of healthcare remains in need of some pretty intensive care. Then we ask the all-important questions: Can consultants find a cure? You bet they can. Otherwise, and let's be frank here, it would be a pretty short cover story.
In "A Critical Condition", Eric Krell, Consultin g's business writer, points out five specific consulting opportunities. Those opportunities include: New models and leadership; Data and interoperability; M&A activity; Cost reduction, and Telehealth and other innovations.
That's five, but there are many, many more. How the profession responds to these, and other opportunities, will go a long way to providing some much needed intensive care to a critical, but still stable, U.S. healthcare system.
Joseph Kornik
Publisher & Editor-in-Chief
jkornik@consultingmag.com
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