Medical costs are skyrocketing because western populations are aging, the rate of chronic illness is growing, and medical advances keep pushing the boundaries.
The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, a non-profit organization based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, forecasts that such trends mean “many healthcare systems around the world will become unsustainable by 2015.”
The way forward means making radical changes. And we’re already preparing for the necessary transformation.
Re-examining how healthcare is delivered
Today, economic pressures often mean healthcare payment is based on delivery of services, not whether an operation or treatment is successful.
Hospitals are structured around medical specialties, rather than conditions and patients. Hospital staff is focused on making departments run more quickly and cheaply, rather than on the most effective overall treatment path for the patient.
"Both patients and caregivers struggle with a complex, fragmented healthcare system," explains Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Medical Systems. “We believe the best way to reduce this complexity is by addressing the needs of the healthcare industry from the perspective of patients and their health problems.”
Value for the patient
By concentrating on patient value we can expand the limits of treatment from hospital-based cures to the full care cycle. This enlarges the role of caregivers to include promoting:
- healthier lifestyles
- patient rehabilitation
- management of chronic conditions – in the home
Concentrating on patient value can also reduce the overall cost of healthcare. Results speak for themselves
Studies show that CT diagnostics may eliminate 80% of lung cancer deaths in high-risk patients (New England Journal of Medicine)
Image-guided stenting can allow brain aneurysm patients to return to normal lives after a month instead of a year (The Lancet)
Using fluoroscopy helps physicians to open clogged kidney arteries and can save $15K per procedure (Radiology)
We have been looking at ways to help clinicians make this change.
Connecting ideas
New insight into how patients and clinicians experience healthcare delivery will help us identify larger market and clinical needs, and will identify more suitable, more complete, and in the end simpler solutions. Here are some prime examples:
Ease of information
iSite PACS, a PACS system that provides your doctor access to the image he or she needs easily, wherever they are, at any point in the care cycle
Friendlier patient experience
Ambient Experience for CT uses a combination of projection, lighting, music and architectural elements to increase the physical and emotional comfort of the patient.
It offers patients the opportunity to personalize their examination environment giving them a sense of control, helping to relieve apprehension and thus increase compliance.
This may reduce the need for retakes and sedation, which can lower radiation exposure and examination costs, while improving workflow and clinical results.
Potential for reduced ICU mortality
ProtocolWatch on IntelliVue patient monitors, screens for the signs and symptoms of severe sepsis and guides the clinician through the Surviving Sepsis campaign guidelines. As with Ambient Experience for CT, ProtocolWatch can be an important competitive advantage for a hospital or clinic
Long-term value for clinicians and patients
Creating conditions for sustainable healthcare delivery means defining new ways of thinking that work throughout the care cycle – and supporting this approach with innovative and affordable technological solutions.
Mr. Rusckowski concurs, “Our vision is to contribute to the value our customers can deliver to their patients. This supports a shift in simplifying healthcare delivery that is already beginning. This will be the key to our success, and the success of our customers, in the years ahead.”
[Published: 2007.12.05]