Friday, 29 March, 2024
HomePublic HealthWISH-list of how to do health innovations

WISH-list of how to do health innovations

The latest research, ideas and health innovations were under the spotlight at the recent World Innovation Summit for Health (WISH), a global initiative of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. This includes looking into how different countries can best ensure the successful implementation of new health innovations. The report identifies the critical factors needed to ensure that new health innovations, including new technology, policies and practices, are quickly and effectively adopted across a country’s health system.

The new research focused on analysis of eight case studies from Argentina, England, Nepal, Singapore, Sweden, the US and Zambia, where very different health innovations have been successfully and rapidly diffused and have demonstrably resulted in improved outcomes. The essential system enablers identified by the researchers were: vision, strategy and leadership; a specific organisation, programme or initiative to promote diffusion; specific funding for research, development and diffusion; and effective communication channels across healthcare, other industries and with the wider public

Taken together, these four enablers demonstrate the clear value of an organised, funded and well led change management effort, specifically focused on diffusion. In all of the cases studied, rapid adoption did not happen serendipitously; it was purposefully driven.

The report also highlights the importance of engaging the public to create social demand for innovation and ensuring there is adequate time and space for learning and adopting new ways of working. The researchers found that fostering both these behaviours would help provide the impetus for change within healthcare systems.

Dr Greg Parston, director of GDHI and executive advisor to the director of the Institute of Global Health Innovation, Imperial College London, commented: "Here at WISH we have seen some amazing new medical innovations and heard first hand fantastic examples of innovative practices to improve care for patients. What we hope our new research will do is help policymakers and health professionals move beyond conventional innovation theory and equip themselves with the practical tools and the knowledge needed to help overcome common challenges and to implement and diffuse healthcare innovations more rapidly within their own health systems."

The report is part of the ongoing GDHI study, which aims to inspire countries to adopt the best new methods and ideas for the successful diffusion of health innovations, including different practices, techniques and policies. It builds on the 2013 report which assessed the diffusion of health innovations in eight different countries, Australia, Brazil, England, India, Qatar, South Africa, Spain, and the US, and which identified three levels of influence on how easily and quickly new innovations are adopted within different health systems; "health system characteristics", "institutional enablers" and "frontline behaviours".

 

WISH also published a report set to tackle the global rise in dementia and identify triggers for treatment, care and funding. The research shows that worldwide 44m people live with dementia – alarmingly this figure is likely to triple by 2050, to 135m.

As the report highlights, dementia is one of the major causes of disability and dependency among older people worldwide. In 2010 the global cost of care reached an estimated $604bn worldwide, equivalent to 1% global gross domestic product – meaning if dementia care were a country, it would be the world’s 18th largest economy.

Global understanding of dementia lags behind other diseases, often mistaken as a normal part of aging. Whilst there continues to be a social stigma surrounding dementia, the level of necessary funding will not be addressed equivalent to the need – in the US funding for HIV/Aids research is more than five times the level of that for dementia research, despite the fact there are five times as many Americans with dementia than with HIV.

Over the past year Ellis Rubinstein, president and CEO of the New York Academy of Sciences, has led a multidisciplinary team of distinguished experts, drawn from around the world to research and provide recommendations about the prevention and treatment of dementia focusing on three core themes; prevention, diagnosis and care, and cure.

The report explores a wide range of dementia-related issues, including the current barriers and challenges to addressing dementia, and innovative solutions; including raising public awareness, care innovations, new financial models and more effective regulatory frameworks. The report offers 10 key policy recommendations for governments to consider, aimed at improving both outcomes for individuals living with dementia and for economies struggling to pay for the costs of caring for dementia.

Rubinstein said: "It's clear that there is not one simple panacea for dementia that lies just beyond our reach; rather, it will take the concerted and integrated efforts of leaders and innovators in all sectors to move the needle on this extraordinary social and economic challenge. This is why we are counting on WISH."

 

Leading cancer specialists debated the increasing burden of worldwide spending on cancer treatment and care. A new report was released which presented a compelling body of evidence to illustrate the true scale of the disease and the rising cost to the global economy.

Delegates heard how the burden of cancer is only set to intensify with new cancer diagnoses expected to increase by around 16–32% over the next 10 years. The report also gave startling predictions on the rise in incidence of cancer from 2008 to 2030; by 65% in high-income countries, 80% in middle-income countries, and 100% in the world's poorest countries.

Policy makers were informed of the three root causes of excess spending, over-treatment and unnecessary interventions, technology without value and inefficient service delivery. To counter this, four clear policies were put forward. Informed patient engagement, better decision making, reduced costs with maintenance of standards of care and rewarding of outcomes. A road map to implement change was put to the Forum.

The report drew on a number of innovative projects from around the world to demonstrate how efficiencies could be driven and treatments improved for patients. Professor Robert J S Thomas, forum chair said: "Through our work we want to encourage governments, policy makers and healthcare organisations to address the problem of affordability in cancer care and treatment. This is a key and real issue for patients across the world. The status quo cannot be maintained when individual and total costs for cancer care are rising dramatically, and where we know we could deliver and drive better value. Today's forum will provide practical solutions that can be put in place. These include optimal clinical pathways for patients, which can be costed and evaluated for wasteful interventions and provide benchmarks that can be used in a wide variety of settings to improve value for patients and providers".

 

A report on the prevalence of type-2 diabetes worldwide warned that an estimated 600m people will suffer from the disease by 2035 and has termed it as a "serious and urgent" challenge. According to a Business Standard report, it said the cost of direct healthcare for diabetes and its complications was around 11% of total healthcare costs worldwide in 2014.

This, the report said was equivalent to $612bn which is greater than the entire GDP of countries such as Nigeria or Sweden.

"The report calls for policymakers to address the serious, urgent and universal diabetes challenge. It highlights that an estimated 10% of the world's adult population will suffer with the condition by 2035," a WISH statement said.

Experts said that diabetes currently "lacks" the public or political priority that it should have and proposes three clinical goals for policymakers.

"Improving disease management for people with diabetes to reduce complication rates, establish effective surveillance to identify and support those at risk of type 2 diabetes and deliver a range of interventions to help create an environment focused on prevention," the report said while proposing three clinical goals. The expert report also said that type-2 diabetes currently affects about 350m people worldwide while 80% of the world's diabetic population lives in countries where only 20% of the global budget for healthcare is spent.

"The health consequences of type 2 diabetes are more severe than often recognised and include increased susceptibility to blindness, lower limb amputations, kidney failure, heart attacks and stroke," the report said.

The report aims to equip policymakers around the world with tools to stem the tide of diabetes. It focuses on proposing actionable recommendations which enable policymakers to improve disease management, increase effective surveillance and implement prevention strategies, based on innovative approaches from around the world.

[link url="http://www.wish-qatar.org/media-center/press-release-details?item=142&backArt=81"]WISH press release[/link]
[link url="http://dpnfts5nbrdps.cloudfront.net/app/media/1744"]WISH global health report[/link]
[link url="http://www.wish-qatar.org/media-center/press-release-details?item=138&backArt=71"]WISH press release[/link]
[link url="http://dpnfts5nbrdps.cloudfront.net/app/media/1427"]WISH dementia report[/link]
[link url="http://www.wish-qatar.org/media-center/press-release-details?item=141&backArt=81"]WISH press release[/link]
[link url="http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7449051-world-innovation-summit-health-2015/links/7449051-WISH_Cancer_Forum_08.01.15.pdf"]WISH affordable cancer care report[/link]
[link url="http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/600-million-to-be-afflicted-with-diabetes-by-2035-report-115021700829_1.html"]Full Business Standard report[/link]
[link url="http://dpnfts5nbrdps.cloudfront.net/app/media/1428"]WISH diabetes type 2 report[/link]

MedicalBrief — our free weekly e-newsletter

We'd appreciate as much information as possible, however only an email address is required.