Healthcare fragmentation creates an opportunity for agents

An assessment based on experience at Oscar Health identifies discontinuity and heterogeneity as central features of healthcare. There is no standard case: doctors’ offices use different systems and processes, insurers apply different rules, drugs have distinct clinical, coverage and distribution requirements, and patients have differing financial, medical and insurance circumstances.

The assessment argues that this fragmentation makes healthcare particularly suitable for agents. Technology could significantly accelerate and improve the efficiency of these processes; if one company gains visibility into and control over the full workflow, it could also create new market power and change activities historically controlled by insurers and hospitals.