2030 - The Future of Medicine

It is 2030. What are the new technologies that have advanced healthcare? What are the new or strengthened demands placed on the healthcare systems of the world? Is the future affordable, or do we see drastic rationing of care or the collapse of healthcare insurance? This book tackles these questions, and provides some answers. It does not shrink from the uncomfortable challenges that lie ahead, as demand surges and new technologies add to the strain. It lays out ten levers that stand a fighting chance of closing the healthcare equation, of balancing supply and demand. But these levers require radically new thinking on the part of politicians, health systems managers, professionals and patients alike. Thinking that needs to be urgently turned into action, whatever the barriers and vested interests. Of all subjects, healthcare is intensely personal, so the future is illustrated with the health histories of members of a fictional family, the Carters. They could live in the US or the UK - or any number of countries that all face the challenge of affordable healthcare over the next 20 years. * Uses a fictitious family to illustrate the changes in healthcare that we will all see over the next 20 years, the dilemmas we will face and the solutions we must strive for * Will appeal to a wide range of professionals working in healthcare and politics Richard Barker has spent most of his career in healthcare, as a leader of organisations, as a board member and as a consultant. His leadership roles have spanned therapeutics, diagnostics and informatics both in the United States and in Europe. He was recently voted as one of the top 50 most influential people in UK healthcare and he sits on several healthcare and life sciences advisory boards on both sides of the Atlantic. His passions include securing a sustainable future for healthcare and redesigning how new medical technology is brought into practice. He now lives in London but is a frequent visitor to the US, where he spent 11 years working in Boston, New Haven, New York and San Francisco. REVIEWS "An accessible and comprehensive snapshot of the complex healthcare environment with which policy makers wrestle...A must read for those who want to be part of solutions to get best treatments to the most people and allow us all to benefit from one of the most remarkably exciting fields of human activity...understanding and fixing ourselves." - Andrew Witty, Chief Executive GlaxoSmithKline "This book is a must for healthcare leaders on both sides of the Atlantic. It grapples with the big question of how we can afford the future." - Ken Jennings, Consultant to leading US health systems "The next 20 years will see huge strides in how medical science could transform our lives. This book not only describes what will be possible but also whether and how we can afford it." - Professor George Poste, Del E. Webb Chair in Health Innovation, Arizona State University "A very engaging and enjoyable read, covering a colossal amount of ground without feeling stretched...translating the more upstream science into practical implications for the general public. A great primer on the health future - for both the health-informed and those coming to such thoughts for the first time." - Sam Lister, Health Editor, the London Times "The author is to be congratulated: a well rounded synopsis of the "present to the future" situation in healthcare...skillfully balancing the transition from basic to applied science, to healthcare and to potential political and economic solutions." - Professor Sir Alasdair Breckenridge, Chairman, UK Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency CONTENTS Introduction and summary 1: The supply of new medicine - unlimited? 2: The demand for healthcare - insatiable? 3: The meltdown - unavoidable? 4: Taking responsibility - a 20 year healthcare agenda 5: Conclusion - the US, the UK and the middle way