E-Book Excerpt: Navigating the Integrative Healthcare Start-Up

The last 20 years have been an incredible growing period for integrative medicine. More healthcare systems have expanded their services to include evidence-based complementary and alternative medical approaches to health and wellness. Hospital systems and academic institutions have taken the lead in pioneering a new delivery of healthcare. From treatment approaches, patient empowerment, provider leadership, and innovative policies, this is an exciting time to launch an integrative healthcare practice.

Starting a healthcare practice is not for everyone. To successfully build a start-up, a provider must possess a certain acumen for business, strong leadership skills, and the capacity to tolerate some risk. By definition, a start-up is not recreating something that already exists, but rather putting into motion a new and ideally better way of doing something. While integrative healthcare providers can learn from the larger system models, private practitioners are able to create integrative healthcare practices that cater to the demands of patients.

Healthcare services are different than other business opportunities. We are not making widgets that we can scale to other markets. Our services are based in science, training, and ethical decision-making. Like other businesses though, the practice of healthcare is greatly influenced by patient demand and the overall landscape of our society. The best way to describe the healthcare industry is Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous (VUCA).

As healthcare providers, this VUCA world is very familiar. We experience vast fluctuations in reimbursement and regulations between payors. There is little certainty in what our healthcare industry will look like, who will have access to insurance, and how providers will be reimbursed as we move into a more value-based system of reimbursement. How we provide care to our patients is affected by a complex mix of federal and state regulations, insurance mandates, costs of healthcare, and multiple other factors depending on your specialty.

Patients are also living in a VUCA world. With the rise of social media and marketing of healthcare, consumers are easily confused about where to go for information. Healthcare insurance remains unclear and difficult for most consumers to negotiate, which creates anxiety for patients.

According to a 2017 survey conducted by Bankrate Money Pulse, 56 percent of consumers worry they may not have affordable healthcare coverage in the future. The same survey found that one in three older millennials, ages 27-36 years old, did not seek healthcare due to cost.

Healthcare is changing and more volatile than ever for consumers. For some, this is overwhelming and may cause the healthcare provider to consider early retirement. For others, it presents an opportunity to change how we are providing healthcare in the private sector. What has worked in the past is no longer meeting the needs of patients or providers.

When I was growing up, my whole family went to the same provider, from my grandparents to us kids. I still see this provider and value the relationship that spans generations. However, this is not a typical scenario. Nowadays, to find a provider, many people look to the internet and read reviews. With the increased marketization of healthcare, patients are much more likely to switch providers to find a good fit. The integrative model puts the patient-provider relationship at the center of treatment, empowers the patient, and emphasizes a holistic model. This is what patients are looking for.

A 2017 whitepaper, The Patient-Provider Relationship Study, found that patients most value connectivity to their provider; convenience via texting and online tools; and more time with their provider. Patients are looking for a relationship, which is the foundation of integrative healthcare practice.

Patients are also seeking integrative therapies. According to the most recent National Health Interview survey, adult use of complementary therapies, such as yoga and meditation, have increased over the last five years. Over half of adults use some form of complementary treatment or therapy, and over one third report taking some type of herbal product or dietary supplement. Patients want integrative healthcare.

We are also seeing a growing emphasis on prevention and the influence of social determinants and health. While it may feel frustrating to enter demographic information into the electronic chart, there is value in it. As integrative healthcare providers, we are committed to paying attention to the whole person, which includes understanding the impact lived experiences has on a person’s health. Integrative health providers consider this in their treatment planning, which will take more time, but result in a significant payoff.

Editor’s Note: This is an expert from the e-book, Navigating the Integrative Healthcare Start-Up. To access the full text, click here.