Health systems face demands shifting toward chronic, long-term conditions, yet financial constraints, fragmented delivery, legacy infrastructure and incentive structures from an older era often hold them back, according to a Nov. 12 report from EY, a healthcare research and consultant subsidiary of Ernst & Young.
“Health leaders need to stop pouring concrete on broken models,” Kim Dalla Torre, EY Global and EY Americas health leader, said. “Decisions made in the next few years will determine what care looks like in 2040. The leaders who put prevention first, redesign the work and treat people as partners rather than patients will shape that future. Those who wait will have it shaped for them.”
Here are the three shifts health systems should start making now to be ready by 2040:
1. Prioritize person-led health and move away from episodic, clinician-led treatment to continuous, proactive support that enables people to manage their health and well-being.
2. Shift away from hospital-centered care to a diverse network of providers offering around-the-clock care and support closer to where people live.
3. Fragmented, activity-driven delivery should be replaced by sustainable, integrated systems focused on improving outcomes and maximizing value.
The report also outlined seven methods to deliver these shifts:
1. Expand what medicine can do through earlier detection and more precise intervention.
2. Use connected data and trusted digital tools and AI to improve care delivery.
3. Redesign work and organize around the activities best performed by people, teams or technology.
4. Treat patients as partners so people can more actively participate in their health.
5. Lead boldly, creating capacity for transformation while continuing to deliver today’s services.
6. Align accountability and investment around pathways, populations, outcomes and long-term value.
7. Combine physical, digital and community-based capacity to bring care closer to people.
