One way to deal with the increasing costs in American healthcare could be a switch from a fee-for-service system to a principle called “accountable care.” This is a method in which American healthcare providers are held responsible for the health outcomes of their patients. It is also a method that reveals areas for improvement and new opportunities for business through how well providers of healthcare perform in delivering better health outcomes.

American healthcare still has quite a way to go before it can achieve the potential promise of accountable care principles. A Council of Accountable Physician Practices (CAPP) survey through the Nielsen Strategic Health Perspectives discovered that, out of just over thirty thousand US consumers and nearly six hundred and thirty physicians surveyed, less than a third had twenty-four seven access to healthcare beyond the emergency department while only half experienced the benefits of receiving coordinated care. CAPP also found that many doctors and patients are slow to utilize health information technology to better connect with each other.

While uncertainty about the economy and the direction of the healthcare industry at the beginning of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) held many businesses back from expanding and innovating, more companies are now responding strongly to the chances for new healthcare innovation. R&R Market Research reports an expected growth to $22.6 billion in 2016 for the health information technology market in America. This field includes technology for improving healthcare outcomes and overall efficiency, wearable technology that helps improve patient compliance with prescribed programs, and companies that create and manage electronic health records.

CB Insights also reported the digital health industry had almost $5.8 billion put into various startups in 2015, an investment high more than six times the $952 million in funding from 2010. Over the coming years, other business opportunities in the sector could include: tools for improving disease management and patient compliance; new technology to connect data between patients and healthcare providers; programs that promote preventative lifestyle changes to avoid disease altogether; and developments in personalized medicine and greater diagnostic accuracy.

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