Entrepreneur buys up sites for individual cities, creating YourCity.MD, a network of about 300 city-specific healthcare Web sites. The creator is willing to wager that consumers looking for a new doctor, a flu shot or a referral for shoulder surgery will flock to the sites, and anticipates that 200,000 doctors who will be using the site by the end of the year.
The Supreme Court made it harder for consumers to sue manufacturers of federally approved medical devices. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled against the estate of a patient who suffered serious injuries when a catheter burst during a medical procedure. The case has significant implications for the $75 billion-a-year healthcare technology industry, whose products range from heart valves to toothbrushes. In a recent three-month span, federal regulators responded to over 100 safety problems regarding medical devices.
Gov. Charlie Crist will ask the Legislature to help millions of Floridians who have no health insurance by inviting private companies to offer a range of coverage options at reduced cost. But the initiative, laid out for the first time in an e-mailed news release, lacked key details, making it far from clear if Crist's effort would significantly address a problem that has vexed health experts nationwide. Nearly 1 of 4 Floridians under age 65 has no insurance.
Two small rural hospitals in Southern Illinois, Washington County Hospital in Nashville and Salem Township Hospital in Salem, are creating a community-wide medical information exchange that will allow physicians, hospitals and other medical providers to electronically share patient information. The partnership establishes a network of health communication that many larger, more urban areas, including St. Louis, have failed to do.
Relentless medical inflation has been attributed to many factors--the aging population, the proliferation of new technologies, poor diet and lack of exercise, the tendency of supply to generate its own demand, etc. However, public policy researcher Robert Kuttner offers a second opinion. He says the extreme failure of the United States to contain medical costs results primarily from our unique, pervasive commercialization.
Editor's note: This is the first in a two-part series on the emerging market opportunity in musculoskeletal services. This week's article focuses on the factors driving the developing market. Next week's article will discuss how to prepare for key trends in the market and develop a program that will contribute to your bottom line.
Today, more than one-third (37 percent) of the U.S. population is 45 years of age or older. In a little more than 10 years that percentage is projected to increase from 37 percent to 42 percent, and account for more than 118 million people. By 2017, the leading edge of the baby boom will be entering their early 70's. This "never grow old, chase the dream" generation, which has reinvented every industry it has interacted with for more than thirty years, will seek healthcare services that promote good health and longevity, as well as support an active lifestyle. Chief among their needs will be musculoskeletal and orthopedic services.
A Growth Opportunity Combine an aging population with technological advances in orthopedic care and devices, and the stage is set for unprecedented demand and increased opportunities for healthcare providers. Consider that the volume of musculoskeletal procedures increased by 24 percent between 1997 and 2005; spinal fusions increased by 73 percent, knee arthroplasties by 60 percent, and hip replacements by 32 percent. And, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ):
More than 3.4 million procedures were performed in U.S. hospitals in 2005, representing 8.6 percent of all hospital discharges.
Estimated expenditures for musculoskeletal procedures totaled $31.5 billion; more than 10 percent of total hospital revenues.
Over the next 10 to 20 years, we will see even more dramatic growth. The number of adults with arthritis (one of the leading drivers for musculoskeletal services) is expected to rise from 46 million in 2005 to 67 million by 2030. Physicians cited in a recent Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery article projected that primary and revision hip and knee arthoplasty procedures would double by 2030.
Several other factors also contribute to this developing market:
Improved screening and diagnostic imaging enables earlier patient identification, diagnosis and initiation of treatment for musculoskeletal conditions.
Today's rapidly evolving technology is resulting in higher-quality, more specialized medical devices and products that enable physicians and specialists to be able to recommend surgery as a proactive response rather than a last resort.
Direct-to-consumer advertising is also playing a role in providing consumers with an unprecedented amount of information on their conditions and medical treatment options. For example, medical device companies are bypassing surgeons and physicians and marketing new joint implants directly to consumers. The effect is that educated consumers are proactively approaching physicians and asking for medical services--and products--by name.
As a result, the median age for surgical interventions is dropping. While knee arthroplasty and hip replacements are performed typically in patients in their upper 60's, the mean age of spinal fusions was 52.
In these days of continuous revenue and margin challenges, musculoskeletal medicine can be--for those institutions with the will, fortitude and quality medical staff to pull it off--the next big growth opportunity. Next week we'll discuss the key trends in this market and what hospitals must do to take advantage of the opportunity.
John Kessler is vice president of The Strategy Group in Norfolk, VA. He is a consultant, speaker and author. He may be reached at kessler@thestrategygroup.com.
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