Healthcare Expert Says There Is No Use Waiting On The World To Change

The healthcare industry is in flux and industry leader Baylor Scott & White Chief Strategy Officer Lavone Arthur said there is no going back to the way things were.  She said many companies are being reactive instead of leaning into the change. Arthur said disciplined, strategic deployment of capital in the medical office building asset class (i.e. building flexible, versatile and with an eye on the future) is the way to succeed in an uncertain healthcare industry.

“I don’t think the industry is in a situation today where you can sit back and wait it out because that implies that things will stabilize or go back to a familiar, stable environment. I don’t believe that’s going to happen,” Arthur said.

Healthcare continues to move toward outpatient/lower acuity settings, virtual, telehealth and e-health, she said.

She said disruptors like telehealth, increased consumerism in healthcare and government uncertainty have made the healthcare industry unstable or, at the very least, uncertain. She predicts it will continue like this and advises people in the industry not to bury their heads in the sand. Rather, she suggests taking steps to anticipate the direction of the market instead of waiting for it to settle.

Arthur would not give specifics on her company’s strategy but said that success is based largely upon vision casting, strategic planning and disciplined execution of that plan.

“I think a lot of organizations tend to be reactive rather than proactive,” Arthur said. “The more you can be proactive in staying true to your mission and your vision of your organization, the organization’s ambition, then you’ll succeed.”

Despite all of the disruptions and uncertainty, Arthur said there continues to be a lot of interest from investors in the industry.

“The dollars are so high … healthcare in its totality is a huge business, so there are a lot of dollars out there, a lot [of] interest out there.”

Arthur said a lot of the capital is gravitating toward healthcare startups or innovators in the space though MOB is also seeing its fair share of favor from investors, according to recent market news.

She predicts the market will not settle down and that it is time to make moves in anticipation of continued change.