The Patient Will See You Now

By Reanna Browne, Founder & Futurist, The Friday Lab 

It is perceptively simple – “The patient will see you now”. But what visionary cardiologist Dr Eric Topol is elegantly foreshadowing in this statement is not. It fundamentally challenges the healthcare system as we know it.

When looking ahead to 2030, a significantly different model of healthcare is emerging, one that may in fact circumvent some of the traditional systems, processes and paradigms of today. Untethered by mobile technology, the availability of ‘healthcare everywhere’ could see a transition in delivery models from acute care settings to community clinics, to retail environments, to the home, or even to healthcare providers internationally. New non-traditional healthcare organisations (once far removed) could also reset the axis of healthcare as they begin to carve out their niche in the delivery of ‘around the patient innovations’ and models of care.

Couple these with a confluence of emerging technologies – from digital (3D printing, advanced robotics) to new materials (bio or nano based) to new processes (big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning) – technologies that could change the way in which healthcare is delivered and received.

But it is not just the steady march of technology that is propelling this potential change. It is also a brigade of more empowered and enterprising patients who are leveraging this technology. In fact, some of the biggest change may come from the deeper worldview shifts away from ‘Dr knows best’ and ‘sickcare’, to ’patient knows best’ and ‘wellness’.

The rules of engagement are fundamentally changing. As these forces become part of the core business of healthcare; new ways of thinking and transformative business and workforce models will become paramount. But the healthcare system is increasingly complex – a total transformation is a daunting and unlikely idea given the varying complexities and the diverse range of actors involved.

So, what can we do with this information on emerging trends and issues? And how can these insights help us to solve some of the complex challenges we face today?

Join me in Coffs Harbour at the Health & Social Care Workforce: Today & Tomorrow conference, where I’ll be sharing healthcare trends and emerging issues and grounding this discussion with some concrete actions today!

Health & Social Care Workforce: Today & Tomorrow
Thursday 28 February & Friday 1 March 2019
Pacific Bay Resort Coffs Harbour
Register and download the program here: www.thecentrehki.com.au/events/future-workforce