The healthcare industry is constantly changing, and many new challenges arise as a result. One of the most significant of these is the rising cost of care. While this is difficult for patients and their families to understand, and their fears are often taken out of proportion, it’s also the root cause for many of the other issues the health care industry faces. The high cost of care results in fewer people being able to access care, which leads to a downward spiral of reduced quality of care and a subsequent increase in the cost of care. Moreover, the continuous influx of new technologies, medicines and treatments also leads to an increased need for healthcare professionals who are able to keep pace with new developments. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the sustainability of healthcare systems both today and in the future.
What is Sustainability in Healthcare?
Sustainability is the ability to continue to provide essential services and meet essential needs (e.g., health, education, employment, shelter, etc.) into the future. The term has been used to describe the status of healthcare systems for many years. However, it was popularized in the early 2000s when international experts, policymakers and the media began to identify the threat to sustainability posed by the growth of healthcare spending.
Why is Sustainability Important in Healthcare?
When a healthcare system is sustainable, it has the potential to meet future demand while maintaining current levels of quality of care. With the growing number of ageing populations, the need for healthcare systems to be sustainable has become even more pressing. Today, more than one-third of the world’s population is 65 years of age or older, and this number is expected to grow throughout the 21st century. By 2050, there will be nearly as many people aged 65 years or older as there are people aged 10-19 years in the world today. Thus, the healthcare systems of the future will have to ensure that everyone receives the same standard of care as they do today, regardless of their age.
Strategies for Improving Healthcare Sustainability
Many healthcare systems have struggled to maintain a sustainable level of service in recent years. For example, people living in the United States have experienced a steady rise in healthcare costs over the past decade. Healthcare costs in the European Union rose at an even faster rate between 2000 and 2009, and both regions are currently experiencing a sustained effort to rein in costs. In order to be sustainable, healthcare systems need to identify the areas where costs are likely to grow the most in the future. Conventional wisdom suggests that the biggest drivers of cost growth are the number of people being treated, the type of treatments and the cost of medicines. Many healthcare systems have already begun to address these issues through efforts such as quality improvement programs, better management of care and the use of health information technology. However, effective sustainability efforts will require more than just the adoption of new management techniques. In many cases, the root cause of healthcare system sustainability issues can be traced back to issues that date back to the early stages of the healthcare system. For example, if a hospital or health care system has not effectively addressed the needs of people living with a particular condition, then the system will simply be adding to the number of people in this category as the population ages.
Key Takeaway
Healthcare systems will have to find new, innovative ways to ensure sustainable access to care for the growing number of people in both developed and developing countries. In order to meet those needs, health care systems will have to be more efficient and innovative. In order to address these challenges effectively, healthcare leaders will need to do two things: First, they will need to develop a vision for how their hospitals and healthcare systems will operate in the future. Secondly, they will need to use strategies like Lean and Six Sigma to improve the efficiency of care delivery.
