The Future of Healthcare by 2020: the transformation scenario

Our long-term health has become a major national and personal focus. In the last ten years, we have seen the convergence of several social movements that recognize that people’s actions are situated in a larger ecosystem of causes and effects. Especially pronounced are movements to provide holistically healthy environments and habits for children, and to create more supportive, less costly systems for end-of-life care. Sophisticated feedback technologies encourage the healthy to stay well, as part of a low key but pervasive system for preventive health. A substantial portion of the population is becoming convinced that they can no longer live however they please, and rely on health care to “fix” them when health problems arise. People, companies, communities, and our nation as a whole have a responsibility to work together to change behaviors and structures that nurture health resilience.

What could Health and Health Care look like in 2020? Watch the Collapse transformation video at http://www.hc2020.org/transformation and comment how are we moving towards or moving away from this scenario?

Healthcare 2020 is an initiative from The Institute for the Future (IFTF) http://www.iftf.org

The Future of Healthcare by 2020: the collapse scenario

A series of natural and social disasters were the last thing our persistently struggling economy needed. The numbers of people needing care, especially those of displaced populations, swelled—as our ability to care for them became ever more limited. Increased vector-borne diseases and infectious strains amplified by global warming and environmental degradation have sharply increased demand for acute care. To make matters worse, the accumulated effects of delayed care through the great recession are finally coming due: poor nutrition, heart problems, and delayed dental care are all exacerbating the effects of infectious diseases. The public and private health infrastructures prove insufficiently resilient to respond effectively to these multiple demands and some parts begin to give way under the strain. Among the bright spots in this dark picture is the ingenuity and resourcefulness shown by local communities.

What could Health and Health Care look like in 2020? Watch the Collapse scenario video at http://www.hc2020.org/collapse and comment how are we moving towards or moving away from this scenario?

Healthcare 2020 is an initiative from The Institute for the Future (IFTF) http://www.iftf.org

The Future of Healthcare by 2020: the discipline scenario

Out of the fray of health care cost cutting imperatives of the past decade of reform, evidence and efficiency emerge as our key values. Beyond medicine, these regulatory imperatives touch edges of the global health economy: raising standards for health claims in food science, medical devices and consumer electronics—and increasing the legal and financial repercussions of making overstretched health claims. This is also the era of No Doctor Left Behind: metrics of practice have been put in place, made possible by systematic analyses of electronic health records. Care is as rational now as it has ever been, optimized to your requirements, genetic indicators, and projected contributions to society. Navigation services have sprung up to assure that care is provided for the best value, including remote consultations or travel abroad.

What could Health and Health Care look like in 2020? Watch the Growth scenario video at http://www.hc2020.org/discipline and comment how are we moving towards or moving away from this scenario?

Healthcare 2020 is an initiative from The Institute for the Future (IFTF) http://www.iftf.org

The Future of Healthcare by 2020: the growth scenario

It’s boom-time in the global health economy. Major breakthroughs for treating major chronic diseases are reached in biotech, genetic medicine, powered in part by improved IT. These breakthroughs did not reduce costs, however. In the growing number of states where coverage is mandated, this explosion is heightened by the creation of millions of fully insured customers. New jobs in health care are materializing every day. And with the oldest baby boomers now in their mid-70s, millions more Americans have entered the period of life where their utilization of health care services is more intense and costly. As a result, health and wellness categories continue to be one of the only profitable sectors of the economy, even at the expense of others.

What could Health and Health Care look like in 2020? Watch the Growth scenario video at http://www.hc2020.org/growth and comment how are we moving towards or moving away
from this scenario?

Healthcare 2020 is an initiative from The Institute for the Future (IFTF) http://www.iftf.org

Wireless chip Patch vs Implant

Will that be IN or ON my body? Many Wireless technologies have been presented at the Continua Health Alliance in Spain http://tinyurl.com/dn64hf

When I think a bit beyond moral, it will make sense to implant such chip in my body, so that my health starts to be monitored 24/7 without wearing a device on a belt or an ugly patch which could disappear after a shower or another!

Of course, I might worry about what that chip will do in my body, but that is not a risk! The chip itself will not harm anything nor for sure its potential service provider. The risk is about malicious use of my data and that scares me.

Nevertheless, online banking scared me too 10 years ago. Today, they are managing online billions of customers' accounts, so let see how things will move forward in the near future...

Furthermore, I have also realized, that once someone you care for, is very sick, lower are your concerns, higher are your expectations from technologies!