2030 - The Future of Medicine

Avoiding a Medical Meltdown

Richard Barker author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:16th Dec '10

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

2030 - The Future of Medicine cover

Highly Commended in the Basis of Medicine Category, BMA Medical Book Awards 2011

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 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.

Making care truly personal, redesigning how we deliver it, and creating incentives to progressively improve outcomes and productivity are at the heart of what we need to do. And it will be obvious from this list that only the overall framework can be established by government the rest is up to health system managers, medical professionals and all of us as patients. * SCOPE *
The book reads with ease. The chapters are focused and the subject well-described. I liked the breakdown of the chapters in small parts, well and clearly titled. This helps to maintain the attention on a subject that can be rather dry...A thorough and very helpful overview of the impact that globalisation is having on the struggle countries face in their efforts (or lack of them) to try to manage the effects of drinking alcohol in their population and the impact on the publlc health of their nations...I can see myself referring back to this book again and again in future as I assess my personal role in the health sector and engage colleagues and patients in the debate to determine what will be the best option(s) for the future. * BMA Med Book & Patient Info *
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, 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 *
This book offers a penetrating analysis of the underlying problems, and offers some simple, but far-reaching solutions to bring supply and demand back into balance and avoid the meltdown. It is not a contribution to the current political debate but a primer for the changes to the underlying fabric of healthcare if reforms such as "Obamacare" have any chance of sustainable success. * Gorilla *
The book goes where few go, and that is to compare issues in the U.S. and U.K. and note how some issues such as need for redesign are similar even though the healthcare payment or insurance models are different. * Doody's Reviews *
Barker's book is a brief and excellent primer on current and possible future trends in medical care. His readable prose captures and synthesizes well the current thinking on how to deal with costs associated with medical advancement. * Health Affairs *

  • Winner of Highly Commended in the Basis of Medicine Category, BMA Medical Book Awards 2011.

ISBN: 9780199600663

Dimensions: 196mm x 134mm x 6mm

Weight: 160g

128 pages