Is a UK Next Gen Private Healthcare Model Taking Shape?
Any mention of private healthcare in the UK tends to provoke. But patient-driven demand for private intervention has been steadily growing year-on-year, creating a new segment – the self-payer.
Borne out of frustration with the NHS perhaps, but the UK-wide referrals and diagnostic backlog from here-on-in will undoubtedly raise the profile of this channel as a serious option for many without health insurance.
Ordinarily, the news that Australia’s Ramsay Health Care is to acquire UK-based Spire Healthcare may only have interested an inner circle. But I believe the move signals greater change ahead.
Positioned as a complementary merger in relation to clinical portfolio, Ramsay is the heavy hitter. Although it has an NHS presence, the attraction is Spire’s larger acute care footprint.
Technology-wise, Ramsay is by far more advanced. Mid-way through its DTX programme, its strategic roadmap embraces Cloud-first, connected patients, clinical mobility, a Single Version of Truth record, 3D imaging, and robotics. Equally encouragingly, it invests in start-ups, and is proactive in advancing Randomised Clinical Trials (RCTs).
NHS-Private collaboration is not new in the UK, with strong bonds forged between specialist pathology networks and diagnostic centres, independent of the established names.
Why do I think we’re on the brink of change?
The imminent launch of the Cleveland Clinic in London heralds a completely different stance, which I believe will raise the bar: in short, a commitment, based on proven experience, to generate Value Based Care. A non-profit, it seeks a long-term collaboration with the NHS, through a blended clinical model:
- A talent management model based on flat salaries and annual accountability;
- A templated approach to technology deployment and innovation;
- Working to attract clinical trials;
- Design of a Research and Education programme;
- A Phase 2 launch of an institute dedicated to GPs and family medicine.
While I’m not rating both these providers on an equal footing, the model they’ve each crafted certainly speaks to many of the more proactive directions the NHS has been pursuing itself.
While there’ll be no stampede towards the private sector, for the benefit of patients, NHS leaders must be allowed to come up alternatives beyond the legacy model of dipping in and out of strategic co-opetition. Surely a new (apolitical) hybrid model beckons, towards shared risk?
Technology-wise, Cleveland is a loyal Epic fan. but it won’t generate full impact solely with this. Other than that, bar the few clinical suppliers that have spring-boarded from the NHS into the private side, including Cerner, SAP, and Serco, the addressable market is opening up, in favour of more disruptive routes to integrating care. Data sharing to underpin prediction and prevention will be an obvious joint mission to deliver.
So, if private healthcare hasn’t been on your radar, it’s certainly worth a review.