Transformation in the eraof systems, place, and AI

This year promises to be both exciting and challenging for the global health and care sector. Governments worldwide are grappling with increasing healthcare demands, a shortage of skilled professionals, and rising treatment costs. Traditional efficiency and gatekeeping programmes have fallen short, prompting a shift towards integrated care models, localised and decentralised care, and a stronger emphasis on prevention. Technology and AI are set to play a pivotal role in this transformation.

Economic growth and a healthy workforce are intertwined, with universal healthcare seen as a key influence. However, it is a costly endeavour. While industrialisation and globalisation may have improved living standards, and medical advancements have extended lifespans, we are not living in better health. We have eradicated most transmissible diseases, such as polio and TB, only to replace them with diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and cancer — diseases associated with ageing, modern lifestyles, and widening income, social, and health inequalities. These factors affect where we live, our access to affordable food, housing, heating, education, jobs, support networks, and services. This results in an additional 17 years of living with a disability for those in the lowest 5% of neighbourhood deprivation, on top of their already shorter lives. If unchecked, this trend will continue, as evidenced by soaring obesity levels globally, even among pre-school children.

Research and innovation in medicine, AI, and 'medtech' to predict, diagnose, and treat poor health are remarkable, but costly. While treatment is essential, it is not the solution. Care systems are seeking ways to contain both rising costs and increasing demand.