Can I Get a Side of Population Health with My Corndog?

A few years ago, a friend of mine roped me into working a concession stand at a local Fourth of July city fair. He was convinced, based on his discussions with the fair promoters, that this particular year would be a blockbuster year by way of attendance. We purchased a large concession spot and put together our menu. We were excited about the possibility of making some extra spending money, and it seemed like we were in a no-lose situation.

Our excitement quickly dissipated opening night when we saw the dozens of other concession booths and food carts. With so many different food options available, the number of people who visited our concession stand over those three days was modest at best. The experience turned out to be a complete bust as we ended up selling less than 25% of our food supply.

As I look back on this experience, I can’t help but think of the current population health market. KLAS just published a perception report on population health, and more than 65 vendors were mentioned in the study. Many of these vendors are new to the field and have only a handful of customers live today. With all these available options, providers are cautiously taking their time in selecting the right vendor(s) to work with.

I wonder which of these vendors will be around long term and which ones won’t last. Just like my experience with the city fair, it seems hard to believe that the market can support such a large number of vendor solutions. To see which solutions providers are thinking about, check out the new KLAS report “Population Health Perception 2014: Who Are Providers Betting On?”