Thursday, November 11, 2010

[EQ] The future need for care

The future need for care
Results from the LEV project

Sweden: Ministry of Health and Social Affairs- October 2010

Available PDF [52p.] online at: http://bit.ly/aUXawv

“…..By 2050 the proportion of elderly people in the population is expected to have increased from the present level of 17 per cent to 25 per cent.

The population is ageing, health is improving and life expectancy is rising. This is a positive trend to which society must adapt.

 

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs has therefore compiled a description of how demographics, health, morbidity and mortality will develop over the next 40 years, and what impact this has on the need for health and elderly care.
A unique model is used to simulate how a statistically representative population of 300 000 individuals ages year by year up to 2050.
The result is summarised in this document.

 

The fact that we are living longer and that our health is improving is positive. The results of the simulations show that it is possible to meet the needs of the ageing population for health care and care of the elderly, but that strategic and resolute efforts are required in several areas….”

 

Content

Summary

Introduction

Health in an ageing population

More younger and elderly people in working age

Simulation of the ageing and care consumption of individuals

The dynamic model SESIM

Increased average life expectancy according to Statistics Sweden projection

Three health scenarios

Consumption of health and elderly care

Cost of health and elderly care increases with age

Costs of health care per capita

Total consumption of care is increasing

Higher costs with raised level of ambition and technological progress

Increased growth contributes to funding

Share of care of the elderly in GDP is growing

Total share of health and elderly care in GDP is increasing

Differences between the scenarios

Increasing need for staff

Shortage of staff in elderly care in 2030

Revenue through hours worked, tax and charges

More hours worked improves the situation regarding means of support

Increased funding through charges?

A small group accounts for half the cost of care

Large differences in cost of care from a life perspective

All elderly people receive health care but one in three do not receive elderly care

Tax funding

Better health, fewer impediments and greater efficiency

Better health results in both health gains and lower costs

Increased proportion of elderly people with good health and better mobility

Preventive and health-promoting measures

Reducing the incidence of dementia

Preventing and delaying strokes

Common risk factors

Healthy ageing

Lifestyle habits of the elderly

There are many ways of preventing

Reduced suffering as a result of fewer accidental falls

Reducing impediments

Efficient health and elderly care

Good quality in health and elderly care

Efficiency can be improved

Wide spread of cost

More measures can be taken to improve efficiency

Reduced service supply does not solve the fundamental problems

Improved efficiency instead of quick cuts

Large reorganisations are possible and have taken place

What if...!?

Information and information technology

Participation and co-production

Remote care and information

Control and follow-up

Large changes with new technology

The scientific frontiers are moving quickly

A cure for dementia?

Reducing impediments through accessibility and the right assistive devices

New ideas are needed

Every little helps...

Conclusions and discussion

Efficiencies, better health and more hours worked

Applying current knowledge

Reduced need for health care and elderly care

Reduced impediments through assistive devices and accessibility

New ideas, research breakthroughs and innovations

Effective forecasts have to prove wrong

More analyses are needed

The future need for care

References

Footnotes

 

 

 *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
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[EQ] What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries?

What is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries?
A scoping review

Rory Johnston 1§, Valorie A. Crooks1, Jeremy Snyder2, Paul Kingsbury1

1Department of Geography, Simon Fraser University,  British Columbia, Canada

2Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
International Journal for Equity in Health – November 2010, 9:24 doi:10.1186/1475-9276-9-24

Available online PDF [41p.] at: http://bit.ly/c0RBx9

 “….Medical tourism involves patients intentionally leaving their home country to access nonemergency health care services abroad. Growth in the popularity of this practice has resulted in a significant amount of attention being given to it from researchers, policy-makers, and the media. Yet, there has been little effort to systematically synthesize what is known about the effects of this phenomenon. This article presents the findings of a scoping review examining what is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries.

Methods

Drawing on academic articles, grey literature, and media sources extracted from18 databases, we follow a widely used scoping review protocol to synthesize what is known about the effects of medical tourism in destination and departure countries. The review design has three main stages:

(1) identifying the question and relevant literature; (2) selecting the literature; and (3) charting, collating, and summarizing the data.

Results

The large majority of the 203 sources accepted into the review offer a perspective of medical tourism from the Global North, focusing on the flow of patients from high income nations to lower and middle income countries. This greatly shapes any discussion of the effects of medical tourism on destination and departure countries. Five interrelated themes that characterize existing discussion of the effects of this practice were extracted from the reviewed sources.

These themes frame medical tourism as a: (1) user of public resources; (2) solution to health system problems; (3) revenue generating industry; (4) standard of care; and (5) source of inequity. It is observed that what is currently known about the effects of medical tourism is minimal, unreliable, geographically restricted and mostly based on speculation.

Conclusions

Given its positive and negative effects on the health care systems of departure and destination countries, medical tourism is a highly significant and contested phenomenon. This is especially true given its potential to serve as a powerful force for the inequitable delivery of health care services globally. It is recommended that empirical evidence and other data associated with medical tourism be subjected to clear and coherent definitions, including reports focused on the flows of medical tourists and surgery success rates. Additional primary research on the effects of medical tourism is needed if the industry is to develop in a manner that is beneficial to citizens of both departure and destination countries….”

 

 *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website

Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho






IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended
recipient and it may contain privileged, proprietary or
confidential information. If you are not the intended
recipient or a person responsible for delivering this
transmission to the intended recipient, you may not
disclose, copy or distribute this transmission or take
any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission
in error, please dispose of and delete this transmission.

Thank you.