OECD - The Future of People-Centred Health Innovation

It is always nice to get away early in the new year so I was delighted to be invited along with Paul Barnett to attend the OECD’s high level Health Policy conference in Paris earlier this week.

The subject of the event was titled: “The Future of People-Centred Health Innovation” and featured Health Ministers from #OECD countries as part of a day of presentations and panel discussions the much need transition of national health systems from legacy siloed “sickcare” systems to more holistic, person and people-centred care systems.

The event opened with a recognition that any rethink of health systems needs to be set against the backdrop of an aging population, growing levels of ill-health, deteriorating life expectancy, rising health inequalities, increasing economic constraints and falling levels of public trust in politics and the institutions that are meant to serve them.

Discussions throughout the day explored the radical new innovations that offer the possibility to revolutionise how care is delivered. These included the revolutionary potential of generative AI, genetics and personalised medicine in addition to the need to expand health equity, early intervention and prevention.

The final panel session featured a rich discussion from OECD Health Ministers from the USA (Xavier Becerra), Spain (Monica Garcia Gomez), ?Brazil (Carlos A Grabois Gadelha), Italy (Orazio Schillaci), Estonia (Riina Sikkut) and Belgium (Frank Vandenbroucke). This focused on the policy and funding priorities to bring about a rebalancing away from acute care to more holistic community delivered care and the initiatives that could help bring this about.

Overall it was very positive to see common agreement on the fundamental need to rethink how care is delivered. One that recognises the move away from the old industrial model focused on throughput of “patients” being passed through sickcare silos to one that places persons and people at the centre of a more holistic 21st century model focused on continuity, relationships, healthier lives, healthier communities, healthier environments and better health outcomes.

The challenge still remains however. How to bring about such systemic transformation to health systems that are so heavily siloed, transactional, bureaucratic and driven by top down activity metrics and/or bottom line considerations?

This will require a new vision and a journey towards new systemic ways of working. Ones that can not only bring more collaboration and systems working between different healthcare actors but one that also extends to include policy makers and all actors who hold pieces of a future 21st century people-centred health and care ecosystem.

How can continuity and change dance together in service of a better health future? This is one of the biggest challenges and opportunities of our times. Check out these resources for inspiration and insight on how we might set out on a shared journey towards a healthier future:

1. Details of Imperial College's "Leading Systems Innovation in Healthcare" Programme which I am leading can be found here: https://lnkd.in/dnVGSDVB
2. Recent dialogue I had with Bill Sharpe (founder of 3 Horizons Framework) on how to apply 3 Horizons to the Future of Health https://shorturl.at/dkzT4
3. Details of a deep dive programme looking at how Critical Systems Thinking can be used to help reimagine healthcare systems in the 21st century can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ekaa2M_p
4. A report I authored commissioned by The Royal Free Hospital charity (London) exploring what a Person and People-Centred Healthcare System could look like in a technology enabled 21st century: https://shorturl.at/nLM58