The Future Health Index (FHI) assesses the readiness of 13 countries to realise the benefits of integrated and connected care, assigning each a score out of 100. The ranking is led by Saudi Arabia (65.3 FHI), while Japan gets the worse score (49 FHI). The index rates the level of access, integration and adoption of connected care, giving equal weight to the opinions of patients and professionals.
The study, commissioned by the electronics company Philips, covers Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and the US.
Researchers point to general problems that are barriers to connected health care everywhere:
- Developed countries score better in terms of access while emerging countries are blazing a trail for technology adoption;
- Regulations can stop integration in its tracks;
- Technology is a generational issue, for both healthcare professionals and patients.
- Patients and healthcare professionals are divided about patients’ ability to monitor themselves.
- Data is proliferating, but does not travel.
- Bureaucracy is seen as a major stumbling block.
- Trust is key – and, in many cases, lacking
- Yet connection comes at a cost: connected care would be more expensive.
From the report:
“The Future Health Index highlights the opportunities and barriers to a more connected and integrated form of healthcare that will better serve future generations. By measuring the attitudes and opinions of patients, healthcare professionals and industry thought leaders, this study seeks to identify key areas where digital innovation has the potential to improve not just the provision of healthcare, but overall health and well-being.
Over the next decade, health systems will need to address both clinical and community determinants of health, empower individuals and families to participate more actively in their own health, and embrace patient-centred design to transform the care experience.
To fully capitalise on the opportunities that connected care technology presents, healthcare systems and the institutions within them will have to strive for a measure of interoperability. Connections are difficult to forge, after all, when devices and systems are unable to communicate. The adoption of common standards and terminology in healthcare technology will be crucial to connected care and giving patients access to data they need to inform health decisions. There are already signs of this in the conclusion of open data agreements between health authorities in the US and UK.
Over the longer term, greater technological adoption and information exchange should empower and encourage healthcare systems to experiment with new business models that amalgamate data and use metrics to enhance efficiency and service quality, such as bundled payments and accountable care.
In addition, multiple entirely people-driven processes – doctor and patient education, legal reforms, promotional campaigns – will have to accompany any lasting technological change”.
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