Advertisement
Advertisement
Health Care: A Steady Pulse
Despite the shift to electronic records, the rising demand for marketing services and promotional products give this vertical a clean bill of health.
In early January, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that health spending in the United States grew only 4.4 percent in 2008, the slowest rate of growth since the CMS began officially tracking expenditures in 1960. However, health spending exceeded overall national economic growth, which was only 2.6 percent in 2008 as measured by the Gross Domestic Product. Competition heats up in the health care vertical as budgets tighten, fueling the demand for marketing services. Meanwhile, a federal push for the transition to electronic health records management by 2015 threatens the future of printed health care forms and prompts many distributors to develop proactive strategies. The weak economy is reshaping the medical marketplace, as well as how many distributors who specialize in the niche do business.
Health Care Goes HITECH
On Feb. 17, 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act was passed by the federal government as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (The Stimulus Bill). According to CMS, the HITECH Act establishes financial incentives through Medicare and Medicaid to be distributed beginning in January 2011 to eligible professionals, physicians and hospitals who are meaningful users of electronic health records (EHR). Beginning in 2015, payment adjustments will be imposed on those who are not meaningful EHR users. The term “meaningful use” recognizes that better health care won’t result solely from the adoption of EHR technology, but through the use of information to better inform clinical decisions. While some distributors embrace the opportunity to assist their health care accounts with the transition to EHR, others are diversifying their product offerings and positioning themselves to serve the health care market in more ways than ink on paper.
“With the competitive nature of the health care marketplace right now, these people are fighting for survival. They’re doing whatever they need to do to get their brand out there for the public.”
Wayne Martin, Vice President of National Accounts
American Solutions for Business, Glenwood, Minn.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Next Page »
Post A Comment
To submit a comment you must be registered with Print Solutions Magazine. Please click here to
complete our short registration form.
