How can we make healthcare fit for the future?

ESL Conversational Topic

Over the past few decades, the world has seen major advancements in health and
largely as a result, people are generally living longer, healthier lives. However, serious
challenges to global health remain, ranging from dealing with pandemics to the rise of
noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) to the prohibitive costs of care, particularly in
developing countries.

The number of people on the planet is set to rise to 9.7 billion in 2050 with 2 billion aged
over 60. To cope with this huge demographic shift and build a global healthcare system
that is fit for the future, the world needs to address these challenges now.

How can
the global
health
system
adapt to

demographic changes?

The global health system will need to adjust to massive population growth, which will be
concentrated in the poorest countries, and increasing numbers of elderly. This will mean
shifting the current focus on treating sick people towards preventing illness and
preserving the health of populations.

What are the main challenges?

The global healthcare system today faces numerous challenges. These are five of the
biggest:

1. The hospital-centric model

The current hospital-centric system is already proving unsustainable and ineffective. A

World Bank report on the impacts of ageing in East Asia highlights the urgency of
shifting to a new model in which primary care plays a bigger role and the treatment of
older patients with chronic conditions is managed affordably at the right levels of the
system. The paper argues that, as in the case of pensions, the financing model for
healthcare will need to rely more on budget financing to achieve universal health
coverage as the needs of ageing populations grow. Ageing is also creating a rapidly
growing demand and market for long-term care as traditional family networks become
increasingly stretched.

2. Healthcare costs, human resources and infrastructure

Prohibitive costs of care and a lack of human resources and infrastructure particularly in
emerging economies are proving a major obstacle. For example, the UN International
Labour Organization found that 56% of the world’s rural population and 83% of Africa’s
rural population live without critical healthcare access. This amounts to a deficit of
roughly 7 million health workers in rural areas.
3. Noncommunicable diseases

Increased exposure to risks such as tobacco, physical inactivity and unhealthy dietary
patterns are making noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) such as cancer and diabetes
the number one killer globally. As the world’s population ages, deaths from NCDs
are projected to rise from 38 million in 2012 to 52 million annually by 2030.

4. Vulnerability to pandemics

The potential costs of a global outbreak of the flu or another highly contagious disease
could be huge. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa provided a wake-up call for how
health emergencies, in an increasingly connected world, can quickly become global
challenges.

5. Health technology and big data

Breakthroughs in technology and the use of big data have the potential to transform
medicine and create connected, more efficient healthcare. Yet health systems are
struggling to benefit from these innovations.

6. The health ecosystem

Only 20% of health outcomes depend on the strength of healthcare systems; the rest is
a function of the health ecosystem. So, to keep individuals and populations healthy,
solutions need to come from outside of the traditional healthcare space.