If we want sustainability, let's just stop protecting the status quo

“There is nothing more difficult to carry out
nor more doubtful of success
nor more dangerous to handle
than to initiate a new order of things.”
Machiavelli, The Prince

Healthcare today is undergoing a period of transition, in which, whether we like it or not, the objective is initiating a new order of things. We should not be surprised about the difficulties involved.

We are witnessing an acceleration of demand and technology at a rate that I think we have never seen before. This is not sustainable. In less than ten years, we have seen the advent of truly wonderful applications in the fields of life sciences and medical devices, costs rising above unthinkable levels, patients becoming the gravity center of healthcare, globalisation,… As we expand the horizon of what is possible (stem cells, cloning, personalized medicine…) we will face a social debate, and citizens will have their say in it. Consumers will be the true pilots of our future healthcare system.

Expectations – both about health and about the services provided – are on the rise as well, and need to be managed. We need to look at the long-term sustainability of present healthcare systems. And here’s the catch, it is my contention that this sustainability won’t come just by better managing healthcare. Doing more with less is becoming an impossible task. Sustainability needs to embrace innovation. We need to do more in a different way. Let’s just stop protecting the status quo, let's bring more choice and competition to healthcare and let the innovators and entrepreneurs flourish. We need more entrepreneurial culture.