Transforming healthcare -- 65 global experts on 'What Works'
-- Healthcare organizations must think long-term to solve today's problems
LONDON, Oct. 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Challenges facing the healthcare sector are well known, yet governments and private sector organizations struggle with how to make meaningful change that will deliver sustainable healthcare – high quality care at an affordable cost.
To create a foundation for meaningful change, KPMG International brought together 65 healthcare leaders, from 30 countries across six continents in a unique forum to identify barriers and review factors for success in achieving effective healthcare transformation. Insights from the forum are captured in a new report: Staying Power, success stories in global healthcare
"In the search for a future vision of healthcare, it is all too easy to be distracted by fleeting fads, political fashions, or flavor of the month policies," says Dr. Mark Britnell, Chairman, Global Health Practice, KPMG International and Partner, KPMG in the UK. "Although an immediate 'big bang' change project can get people interested, it is more important to sustain an environment committed to transformation."
Citing high performance organizations in Japan, India, South Africa, UK and US, the report identifies four key principles underlying healthcare transformation, and five practical ways to make change happen.
For example:
Not just closer to home, but care at home
"Most health systems have bought into the idea of moving care out of hospitals and into the community, but few have made the next leap towards true, home-based care," Dr. Britnell observes.
New care models, like Singapore's integrated health system, start with the patient at the center and work onwards from there.
Engaged people deliver value
"Clinical staff are the power behind healthcare delivery, so any attempt at transformation needs their full engagement," says Dr. Britnell.
The report points to a home care organization in the Netherlands, which empowered its nurses and leveraged technology to provide a full range of care to patients and saw improved productivity, reduced costs and greater employee engagement as a result.
Change is not a one organization show
Effective transformation can rarely be confined to a single healthcare organization. Alliances, partnerships and networks are increasingly blurring of boundaries between multiple providers.
In developing countries such as India, entirely new models are emerging, showing the value of taking a unified approach across a wide variety of locations and partners to achieve a higher and more consistent level of care.
Patients are the solution, not the problem
What other industries have long recognized – and what healthcare is at last waking up to – is that an active customer is a force for positive change.
"A more engaged patient is also able to play a bigger part in his or her own care, which can ultimately lead to significant cost savings," says Dr., Britnell. "Healthcare organizations need to recognize the power of patients to drive new ways of care and help health systems improve quality and reduce costs."
For further information, contact:
Kent Miller
Global Communications
KPMG International
+1 908-313-5037 (mobile)
ktmiller@kpmg.com
About the report
Staying Power, success stories in global healthcare captures key opinions of 65 healthcare leaders from 30 countries across 6 continents as well as results from a global crowd sourcing research community. Featuring successful case studies from around the world, the report focuses on how leading healthcare organizations are adopting new designs and models of care to meet the goals of providing better health, better care and lower per capita costs.
About KPMG International KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax and Advisory services. We operate in 155 countries and have more than 155,000 people working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.
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