What does the future of sustainable healthcare look like in Europe
SHARING DATA WILL ALLOW US TO DISRUPT, INNOVATE AND PROGRESS
Healthcare sustainability must be about the value and benefits offered to patients, systems and society.
Thus, data needs to work harder than simply measuring who is better than who. Asking why is far more instructive – why do some countries outperform others, why are some nations unable to lift themselves and why do some strategies work more effectively than others.
Clearly, improving the sustainability of European healthcare systems is of crucial importance. According to the Index data, the mean EU sustainability score is only 55 out of 100, suggesting that introducing more futureproofing measures is essential.
On top of which, the concentration of innovation excellence in just six countries (Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, UK, suggests that such best practice needs to be shared among a wider group of nations.
That is one of the prime aims of the Index – to show what is possible and how systems can learn from each other to become more sustainable and match the needs of future generations.
By seeing meaningful data patterns in certain parts of Europe – and even within individual countries – it enables stakeholders to learn more quickly about what works so they can make more informed decisions about the changes that need to be made, why those changes work and how they can be incorporated into current healthcare systems. Transformation does not always mean starting again, it can happen as the result of new methodologies and technologies being built into entrenched organisations.
No matter how successful the nation, there are always new ways to disrupt, innovate and progress.
The relative competence and abilities of different member states can be improved by sharing data through European networks free from the kind of siloed mentality which often occurs between different countries.
In vast areas of the continent, healthcare has not been properly disrupted which is why it’s so important to measure outcomes – we cannot improve what we don’t measure.
Europe is a partnership in myriad ways and by sharing best practice, collaborating on new approaches and conducting cross-border conversations about healthcare decisions that need to be taken, patients will be the ultimate winners.
FutureProofing Healthcare: The Sustainability Index is not perfect but it represents a significant step forward in creating a more inclusive European healthcare ecosystem. In future years, data sources will be expanded and supplemented to provide even fuller and more complete document of how European healthcare systems perform today and the changes they need to make to perform at an even higher-level tomorrow.
A strong European healthcare sector is vital for cultural cohesion, the proper functioning of different societies and the positivity and health of citizens, no matter where they live or what their backgrounds.
Data can be an essential ingredient in achieving these aims.
