Shaping healthcare markets
Collaborating with providers to strengthen services
The challenge
All health systems must address the healthcare demands of their population with the supply of services in a way that carries the confidence of taxpayers, patients and care professionals
Whilst health systems are constructed with different structures and different blends of commissioners, providers, regulators and policy makers, they all face this common challenge. In a world with finite financial resources and infinite needs, there will inevitably be an imbalance between supply and demand. This can easily create a culture of conflict and distrust between commissioners and providers.
Shaping markets (also known as market management) is a key lever for addressing health inequities and re-balancing supply and demand
Shaping markets includes:
- Encouraging provider collaboration to improve service integration.
- Encouraging new market entrants.
- Encouraging disruptive innovation and technology to deliver more accessible services.
Shaping markets does not always need disruption. Through co-design between commissioners and providers, there are a wealth of opportunities to strengthen services and improve outcomes.
These opportunities include:
- Creating a single system blueprint that addresses the strategic issues of supply and demand
- Long term planning for commissioning new services and decommissioning sub-optimal care pathways
- Building a ‘single version of truth’ in the form of a common dataset that enables commissioners and providers to understand a consistent platform of performance data
- Co-designing new integrated care pathways
- Efficient consolidation of ‘back office’ services.
What we do
We foster trusted collaboration across the health system to enable collective commitment to the system vision
We seek to foster ‘coalitions of change’ across commissioners and providers so there is understanding of individual organisational challenges but recognising the benefits of whole system strategic planning and tactical improvement.
When we launch service improvement programs, we use expertise and insights from commissioners, providers, professionals, patients and citizens. The foundation of trusted collaboration across these key groups in the health system is a pre-requisite for progress.
The key is to use a confident blueprint of the future and collective commitment to that vision to facilitate mature dialogue about the role of different providers, the changes that are needed in supply and the degree to which the current landscape can meet the demands of the future.
We help health systems give providers confidence in the long-term direction to catalyse change
Confidence in the long-term direction and change trajectory enables providers to shape markets by making changes in facilities, workforce and technologies and achieve the necessary support from staff and service users.
We can use this as a catalyst for encouraging new market entrants and also diversification and vertical integration within existing providers and their partners.
In all cases, it is crucial that the desired outcomes, benchmarks and performance improvement trajectories are clear so that benefits are realised and aligned across all system stakeholders.
Get in touch to discuss how we can support you to shape markets in your region
Jay Rebbeck
Neil Deacon
Read more about where we have supported clients to shape markets in their region
