Currently viewing: External operating environment / Next: Our response to COVID-19
As a global healthcare provider, we must consider how the regions’ economic and social contexts where we operate, impact our business. Therefore, we monitor the drivers that influence both our southern African and international healthcare landscape to make life better for our patients, employees and other stakeholders.
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| Changing demographics |
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Global demographics continue to shift and, with this, healthcare needs. As life expectancy increases, for example, so does the demand for healthcare services. An ageing population will require longer-term care for complex health issues. Furthermore, unhealthy changes in lifestyle will increase the prevalence of obesity and other chronic health conditions.
We expect that the demand for healthcare services will continue to grow as people live longer. Treatments will need to be adjusted to respond to more complex health issues. To remain competitive, we will continue to meet the changing needs of our patients.
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| COVID-19 | |
The COVID-19 pandemic has been disruptive on a global level, putting pressure on healthcare organisations to evaluate and adapt how they deliver care.
The impact of COVID-19 varied across the Group’s geographic regions and business lines, mainly due to the timing of the spread of the disease and the interventions by governments. Our response to COVID-19 may lead to long-lasting change, impacting cost, through-put due to social distancing, ways of working, data and technology. We have adopted a multi-faceted approach to adapt our operations, ensuring we comply with all in-country regulations. We believe that our business is well-positioned to navigate the post-COVID-19 environment. Our key focus will be on clinical excellence, the safety and well-being of our employees, our doctors, our patients and ongoing safeguarding of our financial position.
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| Cost of care |
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On a global scale, the cost of care continues to increase and is expected to become increasingly difficult to afford, placing pressure on margins for healthcare providers who want to provide quality care while remaining competitive in a challenging environment.
Healthcare providers need to be disruptive and innovative to remain competitive. For Life Healthcare, this means driving industry change by leveraging technology, engaging with regulators and healthcare funders, influencing behaviour, improving utilisation and reducing operational costs while offering efficient quality care to our patients.
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| Evolving technology |
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Development in technology continues to transform the way in which we care for our patients, enabling constant innovation in treatments and how we leverage big data, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence (AI). Patients are also increasingly expecting on-demand online services from healthcare providers. The protection and safeguarding of personal data will again come under increased scrutiny as technology is leveraged within global healthcare systems.
We aim to build a future-fit data and analytics capabilities across the Group. Capturing the opportunities unlocked by technological advances will increase efficiencies across the Group, enabling us to transform healthcare delivery, patient monitoring and auxiliary services in the regions where we operate. By doing this, we can empower our patients and clinicians to make better choices. We embed mature information technology (IT) systems throughout our business to ensure data privacy and protect personal information.
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| Growing consumerism |
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Patients continue to place significant importance on value-based healthcare. Furthermore, they expect consistent, high-quality care and clinical excellence from their healthcare providers.
We must remain ahead of the curve by providing patient-centric care with a focus on experience. This can be delivered through the rigorous measuring of customer experience and by driving employees to instil a patient-centric focus.
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| Regulatory landscape |
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The global healthcare industry continues to be highly regulated, with matters relating to licences, conduct, data privacy and security, occupational health and safety, and quality standards becoming increasingly complex.
Compliance and ethical standards remain an important focus area for us, which is inextricably linked to our culture. We rigorously monitor codes, regulations and frameworks applicable to our business to stay up-to-date on changes, which we then cascade throughout our operations as needed. As a Group, we will continue to adapt to the ever-changing landscape.
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| Specialised skills shortage |
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Skilled medical professionals, particularly doctors and nurses, continue to be in demand. This is further impacted by the uneven distribution of the global health workforce. While the need for specialised skills increases, so does the need to upskill and reskill healthcare workers to adequately respond to emerging disease patterns and technological advancements.
To ensure our sustainability in a highly complex operating environment, we recruit high-calibre resources for key roles across the Group. Furthermore, we have dedicated succession plans in place for our executives. We offer learning and training programmes to our employees, and provide attractive benefits and remuneration for employees as well as consultant doctors.
| Global | Southern Africa |
