Overview of challenges in the health care industry |
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The health care industry in Canada is, from both financial and cultural perspectives, huge. The amount of money spent every year in Canada on health care takes up a significant and growing percentage of public spending. The profile, too, that health care has in the eye of the public cannot be underestimated. Health care funding, access, waiting times and efficiencies regularly dominate federal and provincial elections in Canada. But yet the circle of influence, those who are involved in and make decisions about health care, is quite small. Influencing those decision-makers is essential for anyone with a good idea about how to improve the health care system.
The Deloitte’s innovation summit is a step in identifying who those leaders are, engaging them in conversation and facilitating their conversation with each other.
Current challenges across Canada
Attendees at Deloitte’s 2007 Health Care Innovation Summit spent some time focused on the ongoing provision of high quality care in the face of skyrocketing costs and an aging population that will put more of a demand on the system and, over time, pay less into it. Allan Horsburgh, Chief Financial Officer of the
Nova Scotia Department of Health
, made the point in dramatic fashion. “Our province is currently spending 46% of our non-debt servicing dollars on health care,” said Horsburgh. Conservative estimates put the growth in health care spending at 8.5% in that province, and revenue growth at 3%. “Left unchecked, heath care spending will consume 100% of our provincial program spending budget within 10 to 15 years.”
“People in the health industry understand the challenges facing health care quite clearly, and there is an agenda to implement a more integrated health care system in order to manage and thrive. However, to achieve results, more collaboration, long-term planning and innovation needs to be injected,” says Shannon MacDonald, leader of Deloitte’s Health Services practice in Canada. Horsburgh’s presentation made this real for summit participants by showing that the funding for health care is an issue that can quickly affect many other areas of provincial spending. While Nova Scotia’s situation is more extreme than some other provinces, it is not unique. Most jurisdictions in Canada face the same problems on some scale. The solutions that are being devised by all members of the health care continuum — planners, funders and practitioners — are being shared nationally and internationally at events like this one.
A broader partnership to deliver value
“The innovation summit allows health care industry leaders and other stakeholders to learn from each other how to achieve the goal of integrated care,” said Dalton Truthwaite, Deloitte’s Health Services senior manager. Some of the solutions being tried and tested include “aging in place” programs, bringing an integrated basket of services to aging people in their home, as opposed to expensive institutionalization.
As well, heath care systems across the country could come together to leverage their buying power with members of the Life Sciences industry, such as drug companies and medical supply firms, thereby delivering tremendous value to end-users. “Both health care providers and private vendors know they need to work together to create a broader partnership to be part of the transformative change in the health care industry,” said Truthwaite.
At the end of the event, all attendees said they were thrilled with the outcome. “It was an excellent opportunity to share information as well as provide a venue for industry stakeholder networking,” said Irene Podolak, a partner with the Health Services practice at Deloitte.