For some time we have heard media, political opposition parties and lobby and community groups complain about the hospital bed crisis.

Put simply, there are not enough Hospital beds for those patients who need them.

However,  the solution that is often put forward - building new hospitals, commissioning new wards, creating new beds is not the answer.

In fact, there is already a powerful disruptive solution in existence that would do a ‘good enough job’ and more than likely provide better outcomes for patients, medical staff, insurance companies and the Government. But first some background.

We are expecting our third child. Now when my wife finally gives birth, she will do so in a hospital. And it will be in a hospital that she will be receiving some of the very best care available. However, within a day or two, providing she is recovering well, she will be asked to leave hospital. That’s right, only two or three days after a major medical undertaking, she will be asked to leave the well resourced hospital with its highly skilled team of nurses and doctors, its technology and equipment.

Why? Because at this stage of her care she is a liability. At this stage, while her medical condition is significant, the powers that be, both medical and financial have decided that she no longer requires critical care.

So where is she going? is she going Home? No.

A Disruptive solution to non-critical care

What happens next is a reflection of some wonderfully logical and yet, disruptive, thinking. More than likely what will happen is this. A well appointed luxury car will drive her from her maternity hospital to the Park Hyatt, yes, the one and the same, where she will rest - with babe - in the care of the nursing team there.

Amazing!

Apparently, it makes  more financial sense to care for a  mother and new baby in a five star hotel than it does in a Maternity hospital!

The fact that this makes sense (and money) to the private health insurer, her medical team, the hospital and to the hotel is a testament to the power of this solution. And let me tell you, it sure makes sense to my darling wife!

Segmenting Patients

This solution to the maternity bed issue raises a fascinating learning for the broader healthcare industry.

Firstly, it calls for a clear need to re-segment patients not by their medical condition, their age or even their healthcare provider, it requires a segmentation of their needs, or specifically, the “job” that they are trying to get done. (for more information on the Jobs approach visit the Cogentum site). Do they require intensive care, do they require hospital based care, do they require respite care, do they require monitoring? Understanding the needs that drive the selection of an appropriate solution in granular detail will allow us to determine the most logical solution. And the solution may not necessarily be a bed in a hospital ward.

As the ageing population begins to put more and more strain on the healthcare system, the need for new and more innovative solutions grows. What the maternity solution suggests is that patients requiring respite or monitoring may not be best served through a hospital solution.

If a hotel can provide a better, or at least a good enough solution at a comparable cost to the private or public health insurer, then it may well be a better solution for society and the economy as a whole. The Flow on advantage is that this solution would also free up hospital beds for those who actually need hospital based care.

By changing the focus of the problem from one of healthcare to one of “room optimisation” we have been able to solve multiple problems owned by multiple stakeholders. The Hospital, as mentioned, would have more beds available for acute care patients. The Hotel has close to full occupancy which improves its ROA and the insurer is minimising payments and delivering better health outcomes.

Finally, we noted a couple of years ago that International Hotel chain Accor reached an agreement to take over the running of the Qantas club lounge’s at major airports. This was a brilliant example of leveraging core capabilities (hospitality) into new markets. If this is working and producing the required returns, one wonders how long it will be before hotel groups start to take a good long look at the healthcare industry.

As the travel industry starts to feel the impact of a slowing economy and tightening discretionary spending - both tourism and commercial - the healthcare system could well provide the recession proof income stream the Hospitality industry will be crying out for.

Michael R Johnson