Introduction
Over the past decade, the health technology industry in the United States has developed itself as not only a successful but also a lucrative enterprise.
Industry Growth and Potential Obstacles
According to a Forbes magazine survey from 2015, it was the highest growing sector that year, with a net profit of 21%. It also forecasts a 0.6 percent growth in net profit in 2016, edging out the financial market (Chen, 2015). Despite its recent growth, the sector still faces various obstacles in its day-to-day activities. Issues within the sector's internal and external ecosystems continue to be a major source of concern for the sector's optimal efficiency. A PESTEL analysis of the industry revealed many factors that pose a risk to the industry better development in the future.
Political Factors
The United States enjoys one of the greatest democracies in the world. The country handles numerous political and politics-related policies that influence the health sector on a daily basis. The most practical example is the changes in the country's administration. The new president has vowed to review the country's health system and repeal the Obama care. This move would trigger tremendous changes in the industry's landscape among them, accessibility of health care. The cost of healthcare will go up, decreasing demand. As a result, the amount of revenue generation within the industry will reduce (Milligan, 2017). Furthermore, the industry has little interference from the government on price regulation. This freedom has made health service expensive and encouraged the mushrooming of many profit-oriented health institutions. Likewise, strict legislations about professional practice in the sector serve to improve the quality of care while drug laws improve patient safety.
Economic Factors
The American economy, just like in any country is dynamic. There is a time when it peaks and goes into recession. Depending on the current economic status, the health sector performs differently. For instance, the economic downturn of 2010 denied a majority of the American people access to health care. Drugs were expensive to buy as was securing appointments with physicians. Constant inflation in the economy has an upward adjustment of costs in the industry making it even harder to access health care. The cost of medical equipment and hospital supplies is on an upward trajectory. However, budget allocations to the same facilities are not in keeping with this trend. In the end, hospitals have no finances to sustain themselves (Finch, 2012).
Social Factors
The social factor is a very crucial element to the health sector's macro-environment. Recent trends in America's social environment have a great impact on the health industry now and in future. For instance, chronic disease, obesity, and old age are the major health issues in the country currently. The sector has witnessed the reallocation of its resources to tackle these problems. The federal and state governments have invested heavily in expertise and projects for countering cancer, heart diseases, and diabetes. Additionally, investors have established more hospices and geriatric homes to care for the old. As demand for home-based care increase, the industry is also innovating new strategies for caring patients in their home settings (Milligan, 2017).
Technological Factors
Technological developments have seen the emergence of sophisticated diagnostic machines in the health sector. Patients want a system that is specific in diagnosing diseases and promotes confidentiality. This trend has compelled institutions in America to purchase modern diagnostics machines and adopt electronic systems to manage patient information (Johansen, 2015).
Environmental Factors
The physical environment within which a hospital operates determines its success. It determines its accessibility by the public, immunity from disturbance and patient recovery among many other things. If a hospital is working in a busy city, accessibility will be a problem due to traffic jams. So will be the case if located in a remote area. Need for a quiet and green environment will impel patients to change hospitals in search for a good healing environment.
Legal Factors
News legislations and court rulings in America have affected the health sector in numerous ways. In 2014, a Supreme Court decision on the Obama care withheld the move to lower cost of healthcare. The decision helped make health affordable to more people. Decisions of this kind in future on health insurance and other issues would further change the current trends in the sector (Johansen, 2015).
Strengths and Weaknesses
Despite these challenges, the biggest strength of the industry is its ever-growing market size. The global population is experiencing new infections by the day. Cancer and age-related diseases have caused a sharp increase in the number of people seeking health care inside and outside America. The second strength is the high quality of America's health industry. The United States as one of the best hospitals and health experts in the world. People come from other parts of the world to America in search of healthcare. These two factors have enabled the country to attain success in all levels of market segmentation (Finch, 2012). However, its greatest weakness is the constant influence it receives from the external environment. Regular legal injunctions, economic changes, and political dynamics cause many ripple effects on the health sector. Sometimes, these effects are beneficial or drastic. For instance, the introduction of the Obama care helped make health affordable. Its repeal however as promised by the country's new government will deny many people the commodity (Johansen, 2015).
Conclusion
The industry has three growth opportunities that it can capitalize on in the next five years. First is home based care. People want to receive health service in their homes as the need for privacy and environment increases. Thus, the industry should begin to train its professionals on ways of improving this specialty to make them relevant to the current population needs. Second is geriatric healthcare. The population of old people is increasing daily. So are the diseases associated with them. In future, there will be high demand for health services for the elderly. Doctors, nurses, and other health workers should invest more in this discipline for it will be rewarding in the future (Johansen, 2015).
References
Chen, L. (2015). The most profitable industries in 2016. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/liyanchen/2015/12/21/the-most-profitable-industries-in-2016/#330124eb7a8b Finch, J. (2012). Managerial marketing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Johansen, R. (2015). Future challenges facing health care in the United States. Retrieved from http://panmore.com/future-challenges-facing-health-care-united-states Milligan, S. (2017). Health care. Retrieved from http://www.usnews.com/topics/subjects/health-care
