Estes Park Healthcare Conference - Orlando

The 2008 Estes Park Healthcare Leadership conference is all about discontinuous change.  Continuous change, as it has been explained over the past few days here in Orlando, can be predicted and projected.  Discontinuous change occurs when future direction does not follow historical patterns.  In other words, the future of healthcare cannot be predicted with any degree of certainty. 

Well that makes strategic planning simple, now doesn't it?  The experts gathered here recommend that organization leaders participate in "what if" discussions and create multiple potential scenarios. 

One fact is abundantly clear, US healthcare can't afford to stay on its current path.  Our economic system is simply unable to support the current delivery model, particularly as the population ages.

Another reality is that burgeoning technology is forever changing the way healthcare is provided and documented.  Google Health, Microsoft Health Vault, and Dossia are all worth watching.  Robotic surgery, nano technology, and implantable microchips will soon dramatically decrease the need for physician and patient to be in the same physical location.  Increased use of the web will enhance patient education, medical record access, and interactive patient/provider relationships. 

Considering those realities, the presenters agree that this may not be the best time for hospitals to plan large building projects.  The delivery of healthcare is beginning to decentralize.  Care that now requires a trip to the doctor's office, (sometimes considerable) time in the waiting room, and a wait of hours (or days) for test results, will increasingly be available remotely or in the local (think Walmart clinic) community. 

The primary take-away message this week?  Don't expect tomorrow's healthcare to look like today's.

Oh, I've included a few photos of our surroundings to show that, while the message may not always be comfortable, we in attendance certainly are.