In healthcare business news, Kaiser Permanente CEO, Bernard Tyson believes cost reduction is key to healthcare evolution, in a new model in which that hospitals and pharmacies go to patients rather than the other way round, as has long been the tradition.

“For the future, what we have to do is push care out to where the patient or member is. That’s our reimagined idea — care anywhere. What we’re trying to do now — what we will do — is turn this industry upside down. Rethinking the patient experience has really opened up the imagination here,” he declared.

In this reimagined future, Bernard says hospitals will continue to play an important an important but less central role, in healthcare provision.

“You’re going to continue to see the healthcare industry evolve. You’re going to continue to see the hospitals playing a critical role but not the central role,” Tyson explained.

Driving the strategy, according to Tyson, is the need to reduce costs and make healthcare more affordable for patients who are increasingly aware of the health economy and are looking for cheaper health solutions.

To accomplish this, Tyson believes that Kaiser Permanente wants to move healthcare upstream and find models for preventing chronic diseases. The company also wants to diagnose and treat chronic diseases early, “so people have a better chance at living healthy lives. This is all part of the innovative thinking that will be required as we move forward as a society.”

Kaiser Permanente is the largest private integrated health care delivery system in the United States, delivering care to more than 12 million members in eight states.  Its sheer size and the integrated system it runs, which includes a network of providers, hospitals and insurers, provides a platform that allows it to be the leader in cost reduction and healthcare trends.

In May 2018, Kaiser Permanente joined the Health Care Transformation Task Force (HCTTF), a group of leading health care payers, providers, purchasers and patient organizations. The aim of the taskforce is to move the healthcare sector towards value-based models that support better health, better care and lower costs.

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