All healthcare systems are under pressure. At the various meetings to which UEHP has been invited, from the OECD’s BIAC in Paris and The Economist in London to the recent IHF World Hospital Congress in Lisbon, we have advocated the cause of the private hospital sector in Europe as a partner in the provision of services of benefit to all. The NHS in the United Kingdom, for example, suffers from limited access due to long waiting lists, currently resulting in overcrowding affecting 7.75m patients.
Sustainability, environmental responsibility and medium-term commitments do not mean that day-to-day care is forgotten. Uncompensated inflation, health care workforce shortages and complex investment strategies all cast a shadow over the current situation. But one fact is emerging: healthcare will be driven by data. More than a conviction, it is a necessity. The funding reforms in France will include value-based health care, and we can only welcome it. The reforms in Germany, on the other hand, are worrying because they are not based on these criteria. Decision-making requires a shared analysis of data: metrics matter. We have long been calling for the rationalisation of healthcare provision based on medico-economic criteria, and the European private hospital sector is well placed to meet this need. Tomorrow’s progress depends on today’s efficiency. Data-driven healthcare? Yes!
