Last week, I attended the first World Innovation Summit for Healthcare in Doha, Qatar. More than 800 people from 67 different countries participated in the event. They included leaders from health care, as well as figures from journalism, sports, and politics. The summit’s purpose was to bring people together who have the power to change the way things are done to find innovative solutions to global healthcare problems. In his opening speech, Lord Darzi, the chair of WISH, reminded us that such challenges cannot be solved with more of what we are doing.
I had some really interesting discussions over the two days about the use of innovation in health care and, in particular, the redesign of care services. This is an area that we have studied in our Think Differently work. Many countries, including professional resistance and inadequate attention to implementation, have faced the same obstacles that we face now. The consensus was that patients should drive the health care system and that lawyers should not redesign care systems regardless of how complex they are.
The increasing costs of health care were also a common topic. I returned to the United Kingdom with a much better understanding of the cost-containment strategies being implemented by countries with low and medium incomes. Richard Horton (editor of The Lancet) reminded me that we could learn a lot from other healthcare systems. All ideas must be tailored to the local context, but we hope that the success of WISH will include the diffusion and exchange of many of these solutions.
The summit featured 15 innovations from around the world, including an ambulance designed by the Royal Society of Arts with a trolley at the center that allows paramedics the flexibility to work both sides of a patient if needed. At the summit, papers on a wide range of topics were presented, including mental illness, obesity, road safety, and antimicrobial resistance. Also, a study was released on the adoption of innovations in eight countries. This study assesses the key factors that are associated with successful adoptions of healthcare innovation – a fascinating read.
The summit sent out many powerful messages on how we can transform the care system: prevention, demand management, data sharing, and collaboration within care systems. Aung San Suu Kyi’s powerful keynote speech, delivered as the Chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Burma, Myanmar, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, was what I thought made Doha so worthwhile. She spoke passionately of the need to rebuild good health care in her country to ensure that everyone can access care. She also reminded us that caring is important: “The innovative health care I am looking forward to is rooted in human value and spirituality …’
Last week, I attended the first World Innovation Summit for Healthcare in Doha, Qatar. More than 800 people from 67 different countries participated in the event. They included leaders from health care, as well as figures from journalism, sports, and politics. The summit’s purpose was to bring people together who have the power to change the way things are done to find innovative solutions to global healthcare problems. In his opening speech, Lord Darzi, the chair of WISH, reminded us that such challenges cannot be solved with more of what we are doing.
Over the two days, I had some really interesting discussions about the use of innovation in health care and the redesign of services. This is an area that we have studied in our Think Differently work. Many countries, including professional resistance and inadequate attention to implementation, have faced the same obstacles that we face now. The consensus was that patients should drive the health care system and that lawyers should not redesign care systems despite their complexity.
The increasing costs of health care were also a common topic. I returned to the United Kingdom with a much better understanding of some of these cost-containment strategies being investigated by countries with low and medium incomes. Richard Horton (editor of The Lancet) reminded me that we can learn a lot from other healthcare systems. All ideas must be tailored to the local context, but we hope that the success of WISH will include the diffusion and exchange of many of these solutions.
The summit featured 15 innovations from around the world, including an ambulance designed by the Royal Society of Arts with a trolley at the center that allows paramedics the flexibility to work both sides of a patient if needed. At the summit, papers on a wide range of topics were presented, including mental illness, obesity, road safety, and antimicrobial resistance. Also, a study was released on the adoption of innovations in eight countries. This study assesses the key factors that are associated with the successful adoption of innovations in health care. It is an interesting read.
The summit sent out many powerful messages on how we can transform the care system: prevention, demand management, data sharing, and collaboration within care systems. Aung San Suu Kyi’s powerful keynote speech, delivered as the Chairperson of the National League for Democracy in Burma, Myanmar, and Nobel Peace Prize Winner, was what I thought made Doha so worthwhile. She spoke passionately of the need to rebuild good health care in her country to ensure that everyone can access care. She also reminded us that caring is important: “The innovative health care I am looking forward to is rooted in human value and spirituality …’