Site-of-care shift strategy assessment

Increased demand from growing and aging patient populations have created sustainability pressures that are straining health systems around the world. Now, as we build back from the Covid-19 pandemic, changes in policy direction, regulation, third-party disruption, and patient & clinician preferences are illuminating a path towards sustainability that many health care executives intend to go ‘all-in’ on: shifting or expanding hospital services to be closer to the patient.

Leaders understand that there is more running room than ever to offer service alternatives that are cheaper, scalable, and closer to the patient—and they plan on using this opportunity to reimagine how and where to deliver care. But there remains a gap between intent and action. Despite executives understanding that this is the direction of travel, and that pursuing it will improve cost, quality, and access to the patients they serve, their organizations are still missing many of the critical components necessary to operationalize their site-of-care shift strategy.

Sourcing from over 60 research interviews with systems from around the world, we compiled a set of the ten components that all innovative, forward-looking systems have included in their plans to shift services closer to the patient. This list serves as a baseline set of areas that organizations must incorporate into their strategies to successfully achieve their care shift vision.