Fixing Healthcare: The Professionals' Perspective

The Economist Intelligence Unit, March 2009

“….Healthcare professionals believe that patients will play a key role in making healthcare systems sustainable, according to a major new research report, Fixing Healthcare, written by the Economist Intelligence Unit and commissioned by Philips.

More than 80% of healthcare professionals polled say that patient-centred care—in which patients have more say in the treatment process and take more responsibility for their own health—will be important or even critical in containing the cost of healthcare and improving standards of care in the future. However, they worry that a lack of political will to change healthcare systems may stand in the way of implementing patient-centred care in their own countries.

The report investigates the views of a range of professionals on how pressures affecting healthcare systems can be relieved. The research is based on a survey of more than 700 healthcare professionals, from frontline medical staff to life science industry executives, in four key economies—the US, UK, Germany and India.

The research finds that while healthcare professionals in most regions feel that standards of care in their country have declined over the last two years, they clearly support patient-driven efforts to improve them. The report also identifies signs of a changing emphasis in some healthcare policies, from sickness to prevention, which could permanently alter the ways in which healthcare will work in the future…..”

· Fixing Healthcare PDF: download a copy of the full 2009 report, released on March 20th, 2009. [1.6MB]
· Press release: download a copy of the press release. [37KB]
· Related article: Q&A with Professor Alan Maynard, UK health economist. [49KB]
· Related article: Can Obama afford his aims for US healthcare? [95KB]
· Related article: Rural healthcare in India. [123KB]
· This report was commissioned by Philips. Visit Philips' Inside Health website.