The provision of healthcare to the older person is a BIG issue. No, it is not an ‘issue’, it is a massive problem.
Why? Three reasons.
1. There are a lot of them needing it
2. Healthcare, certainly in the UK and US, is unprepared for the demands that will be placed upon it
3. In general, the delivery of healthcare seems to have got stuck in a time warp and has not benefited from the advances in digital technologies
Let’s not confuse the amazingly sophisticated diagnostic and treatment technologies that are available. I am talking about the boring digital systems that make sure when you see a doctor he/she might have some chance of accessing your data. The real basic nuts and bolts of the healthcare infrastructure.
Certainly in the UK, attempts to automate the basic systems have invariably resulted in failure and a massive loss of money and probably lives.
In the US (at Harvard) they are trying to address the fundamental problem, as they see it:
“Healthcare does not lack for new ideas, it lacks for dissemination of ideas”
If you are in the healthcare sector you must be terrified of how unprepared you are for the ageing population. If you are a member of that population, better you don’t know, if you want to sleep at night.
Worth reading how Harvard is trying to tackle the issue.
Image via flickr
Original Post: http://20plus30.blogspot.ro/2014/08/healthcare-does-not-lack-for-new-ideas.html