Philips Releases 2018 Future Health Index Report

As of last week, all three parts of this year’s Future Health Index (FHI) by Philips are now available. Started two years ago, the FHI has previously measured perceptions of how healthcare is experienced from the points of view of both patients and providers in different countries (2016) and compared these perceptions to the reality of health systems in those countries (2017). This year, the FHI is focused on where healthcare systems around the world are in their progress towards value-based care. In doing so, the FHI is building on the growing consensus that value-based care is necessary to address the rising prevalence of chronic diseases and high costs of care. Broken up into three parts, another first this year, the report analyzes 16 health systems in developed and developing markets, representing approximately 50% of the global population.

In Part 1, the FHI articulates the Value Measure which incorporates data from across 45 metrics including both third party data and survey data. Some insights from the report include evidence that the US performs well in data collection compared to other countries, but struggles from the lack of a universal health record. Satisfaction with the healthcare system is also significantly lower in the US from the perspectives of both healthcare professionals and the general population. This lack of satisfaction pairs with a lack of trust, with 62% of healthcare professionals and 40% of the general population indicating a lack of trust in the US healthcare system.

Part 2 of the FHI report identifies five recommendations to drive better collection, analysis, and use of healthcare data for the purpose of achieving value-based care. These five recommendations are:

1. Getting regulation right
2. Modernizing education
3. Ending top-down implementation
4. Proving and explaining value
5. Harmonizing data standards

Lastly, Part 3 of the FHI emphasizes the importance of telehealth and identifies four areas where telehealth is realizing early success: radiology, pathology, intensive care, and general practice. Additionally, the report provides four recommendations for driving additional telehealth adoption and delivery of value-based care models. These four recommendations are:

1. Building the financial case for telehealth implementation
2. Ensuring telehealth implementations go beyond the technical
3. Developing a common language
4. Basing telehealth on recognition of differences

As can be seen from both lists of recommendations, two common themes in Philips’ FHI report include standardization, as well as a holistic understanding of the stakeholders involved in creating solutions and working on implementation to ensure buy in, usage, and the highest likelihood of success. Regarding the overlap between the telehealth focus of this year’s FHI report and ongoing efforts at Philips, Vitor Rocha, CEO of Philips North America commented, “At Philips we are working on telehealth and artificial intelligence solutions that can help break down the barriers between hospital and home, giving patients an alternative way to connect with healthcare professionals, both improving access to care and their satisfaction. With value-based care, we can put the emphasis back on the patient, not profits and create the kind of solutions that improve diagnostic confidence and patient outcomes, while at the same time reducing costs. Only then can we engender trust in the U.S. healthcare system and bridge the gap between healthcare professionals and the general population.”

Link: Philips Future Health Index…