Patient involvement crucial to controlling costs

More than 80% of healthcare professionals polled say that patient-centred care – in which patients have more say in the treatment process and take more responsibility for their own health – will be important or even critical in containing the cost of healthcare and improving standards of care in the future. However, they worry that a lack of political will to change healthcare systems may stand in the way of implementing patient-centred care in their own countries.

The report investigates the views of a range of professionals on how pressures affecting healthcare systems can be relieved. The research is based on a survey of more than 700 healthcare professionals, from frontline medical staff to life science industry executives, in four key economies: the US, UK, Germany and India.
The research finds that while healthcare professionals in most regions feel that standards of care in their country have declined over the last two years, they clearly support patient-driven efforts to improve them. The report also identifies signs of a changing emphasis in some healthcare policies, from sickness to prevention, which could permanently alter the ways in which healthcare will work in the future.

Other findings from the research include:
·    More than one-third of US and UK health professionals, and 60% of their counterparts in Germany, say their country's healthcare system has declined in efficiency over the last two years.   
·    Proactive patients are stretching the system. Patients are less passive today than in the past and their proactivity is contributing to strains on healthcare systems. The survey respondents say patients expect higher standards of care than in the past, more information about their treatment, more involvement in relevant decisions about their care, and access to the latest treatments.
·    Modern healthcare has largely been focussed on cures, but many in the industry believe that focus needs to change to emphasise preventive medicine, particularly as the incidence of preventable chronic diseases. However, while 40% of healthcare professionals would prefer their Governments to do more to encourage preventative medicine, half would still prefer scarce resources to be invested in frontline, primary care settings such as hospitals.
"It has become increasingly apparent that, as patients become more educated and proactive, they are more likely to frame the healthcare agenda. Clearly that creates additional pressures on healthcare systems, but ultimately if patients can be empowered to manage their own health more effectively, they can also be part of the solution," said Iain Scott, the report’s editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.