Reinventing Healthcare For The 21st Century

Both developed and emerging countries face three global megatrends that will have a crippling impact on their economies and societies if not addressed in the near future. The most signifi cant trend is a rapidly aging world population. The proportion of the population over the age of 60 is projected to double from approximately 11 percent to 22 percent – from 605 million to 2 billion – between 2000 and 2050, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This global aging is already affecting the other two trends – spiraling healthcare costs and healthcare worker shortages.

An International Monetary Fund analysis released in 2012 attributes one-third of the cost increase in public health spending by advanced economies – 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over the next 20 years – to population aging. In 2010, total worldwide spending on healthcare was $6.5 trillion, or 10.4 percent of global GDP, with almost 75 percent being concentrated in North America ($2.9 trillion, or 44 percent of total worldwide spending) and Europe ($1.9 trillion, or 29 percent of total worldwide spending), according to WHO. The aging population is straining a shortage in trained health workers, estimated by WHO in 2006 to be 4.3 million globally, with the poorest countries being hardest hit.

‘The Grand Challenge’ in Healthcare: Collaboration between Industry and Government

At its 2012 Healthcare Innovation Summit, Intel convened several worldwide thought leaders to discuss opportunities to alleviate the impact of global aging, cost growth and workforce shortages.

Download this white paper to read more.