Health Care Trends, Opportunities and Challenges

… patient experience instead of meeting a ton of new bureaucratic red tape. They don’t want to be caught flat-footed when the tide changes to customer service again.

CJ: Not sure they are necessarily new, but connected devices (Internet of Things) is now in desperate need of security. Locking down how medical devices are connected to the network and who has access to them is of increasing concern. Personal health apps and medical apps in general are also becoming commonplace.

CP: Can you give some examples of key opportunities for solution providers in health care?

AA: Because this is such a regulatory-intensive industry, doctors are interested in streamlining services, and making sure that they meet federal and state requirements — which are constantly changing. That creates a huge opportunity for service providers who are well versed with HIPAA and meaningful use requirements.

CA: Centralization is key. This means opportunities in centralized communications, collaboration, storage and analytics. There is a strong push for more outsourcing of things like servers, software and data centers in general.

There are still some legacy apps that need attention like fax. Management of communication and data is the critical backbone in health care. Do it securely, effectively and maybe in real time.

CJ: Opportunities are tied back to the key trends — security is key and not specific to health care, but across the board. Medical practices and hospitals, etc., are short resources to truly support and secure their environments, and the market is in desperate need of those that can accommodate and support them.

CP: Is there revenue to be gained by entering the health-care market? How?

AA: Yes, there are big revenue opportunities in (the) health-care market because of the changing nature of privacy-related regulations. The hardest thing in this industry is getting the opportunity to sit down with a physician who only has five minutes to listen and then convince them you are their guy.{ad}

CA: Like any industry today, you simply don’t just enter and try and take on clients. You need to know how to deliver structured, outcome-based solutions. It is getting a lot harder for the commodity sales representatives that pitch on price.

Costs are high and there is a push for lower cost, but lowering cost without a business benefit to tie to it is sales suicide. If you are not part of the (business) solution, you are not going to get very far or for very long.

CJ: Like any market that is mature, there is money to be made, but the approach with health care is to not try and take it all on at once. It has verticals within the vertical — targeting pediatrics versus ophthalmology or taking on two or three specialties. Another way is to provide a specific product or service that you can optimize for health care — secure messaging or phone system services, etc.