Emerging Opportunities and Challenges Across the Healthcare Ecosystem
OVERVIEW
The healthcare industry is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by advancements in AI, gene therapy, and precision medicine, in addition to pricing pressures from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), pipeline stagnation, workforce shortages, and cybersecurity threats
Some of these challenges are faced by companies across industries and others are healthcare industry specific. To better understand the biggest challenges facing leaders across the healthcare industry, Weber Shandwick’s Healthcare practice, in partnership with our colleagues at KRC Research, surveyed nearly 100 long-tenured, senior decisionmakers across the healthcare industry, including:
96 Senior-level Executives
over half (55%) of whom have been in their current role for 10 or more years
They represent Healthcare Providers, Biotech and Pharma, Consumer Health, and Insurance/Payers
Their areas of expertise include
1
KEY FINDINGS
The survey replicates a similar study conducted in 2022, prior to implementation of the IRA, and details industry reactions to new complexities created by regulation and AI. Healthcare executives are equivalently focused in 2024 as they were in 2022 on priorities that matter most to investors, including margins and workforce development. In this year’s survey, 52 percent of executives cite maintaining margins as a top challenge; 51 percent shared these concerns in 2022. And nearly half cited “market and recruitment” as a leading challenge, compared to 54 percent in 2022.
Leaders today face new and urgent pressures that mandate additional priorities. Specifically:
• When it comes to actions specifically provoked by the IRA, 66 percent say they plan to update their growth or strategic plans, 49 percent say they will bring new services to market, and 41 percent say they plan to make updates to affordability initiatives.
• In response to the challenges and opportunities driven by AI, 47 percent say they plan to adjust their organizational structure, and 43 percent say they plan to conduct business intelligence or R&D.
2
For more information, contact:
Kelly Yoder
EVP, NA Corporate Health Lead kyoder@webershandwick.com
Jamie Dowd
President, Health Americas jdowd@webershandwick.com
3
When it comes to reputation management, less than a third of respondents say they are prioritizing societal issues such as:
• ESG initiatives (28%)
• Political polarization (27%)
• Geopolitical strategy (27%)
• ·Mis/disinformation (30%)
Across biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, and health tech respondents, 52 percent of leaders cite a need for cross-functional strategy across government affairs, public affairs, and investor relations to advance their business objectives.