We have the technology and often the money and the will but poor management of our medical systems is preventing us from delivering quality health care, says a new report.

Over the past few decades, there have been astonishing innovations in the field of biotechnology. But these new capabilities have not necessarily translated into better health care worldwide, according to a new report.

Why not? The answer is simple: poor health care management. With lumbering administrative systems, long waiting lists and overworked, underpaid staffs, patients can rarely access these state-of-the art technologies, even if they are there.

“The incredible advances seen in medical technology have not been matched by innovation in health care management and processes,” said Robin Bew, editorial director of the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), the group that authored the report. “This is a failure that costs taxpayers and patients dearly.”

Elizabeth Teisberg, a professor at the University of Virginia and co-author of the recent book Redefining Health Care, agrees: “Twenty-first century medical technology is delivered with 19th century organisational structures,” she told EIU. “The most powerful innovation in the coming decade will be structural and organisational–new ways of working, new team approaches to delivering the full cycle of care.”

Room for improvement

The report, which is based on desk research, discussions with experts and the results of a survey of 775 health care professionals, sought to identify organisational and structural impediments that are hindering innovation in health care management and to provide recommendations based on their findings.

One top recommendation was for health care providers to strategically integrate their services, so as to better suit the needs of patients. EIU cited the West German Headache Centre at the Essen University Hospital as a good example of this model. The Headache Centre offers patients consultations with various types of specialists, all of whom work within the same facility and collaborate on diagnosis and treatment recommendations. The Centre’s inventive structure has earned concrete results: 80 percent of the patients that have been through its programme have not missed more than six days of work in six months, resulting in lower costs for the health care system.  

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