2018 Forecast: Another Theranos, Hospital Hiring Slows & Successful HIT Exits

By BOB KOCHER, MD and BRYAN ROBERTS For what is now an annual tradition, we are once again attempting to be healthcare soothsayers. We are proud to share with you our 10 healthcare predictions for 2018. In 2017, amaz-ingly, eight of our predictions came true. For 2018, we are betting on the following: 1. Another Theranos We think at least one healthcare information technology company with an enterprise value of more than $1 billion (not including Outcome Health, which we could not have predicted tanking so spectacularly quickly) will be exposed as not having product results to support their hype. It will also expose embarrassed investors who did not do careful diligence and founders with poor integrity. 2. Hospital hiring slows After a decade of sustained hiring every month, hospitals will stop. Many will downsize their administrative staffs as admissions continue to slowdown and reimbursement pressures intensify. We expect multiple months with net healthcare job losses which would be the first time this has occurred since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking the data. 3. Successful HCIT exits After a long wait, and more than $10 billion of venture capital invested in startups over the past five years, we will begin to see successful IPO and M&A exits. These will reassure growth investors to keep pouring money into companies with traction. 4. Amazon does not disrupt PBMs Despite daily rumors, we think Amazon will not shake up the PBM sector. Instead, Amazo...
Source: The Health Care Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Bob Kocher Bryan Roberts Venrock Capital Source Type: blogs