Innovation is about sharing ideas says Lord Darzi
Developing global healthcare systems
L
ord Darzi is Professor of Surgery at Imperial College London and is a member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council. He is leading the charge for international health
reform. Here he discusses innovation, investment and the role the NHS continues to play.
You have been very involved in helping to develop healthcare around the world, particularly in the Gulf region. What are the major challenges? We hold a global summit in Doha, attended by policy makers, academics and industry leaders from across the globe to share radical innovations that have made a significant impact on healthcare. We held our first meeting there in December 2013 and the next is on the 17th and 18th of February this year. We expect one thousand leaders in healthcare reform to attend including delegates from the Gulf region but also from America, Europe and Asia. Every year we choose a number of important themes for discussion, including this year how to deliver affordable cancer care, programmes for tackling the global epidemics of diabetes and dementia and measures to promote childhood mental well being in schools and at
home.Qatar stands at the leading edge of innovation making impressive investments in science, technology and medicine to develop a robust healthcare system that meets its own local needs. I have been very impressed with the speed at which reforms are being implemented there, as well as in the rest of the Gulf region. Most importantly, Qatar is working to avoid the mistakes made in Europe and the US by developing its own systems to match its own needs.
What role can the NHS play in the development of these foreign systems? The NHS has been around since 1948 and it has transformed itself many times over the years. If you look at the cost of the NHS per head of population
20 Global Opportunity Healthcare 2015 | Issue 01
it provides excellent value for money. The NHS has many unique characteristics which have provided a valuable touchstone for countries developing their own healthcare systems, such as the emphasis on primary care, which is the rock on which the NHS rests. Many countries are keen to develop their own primary healthcare systems and the NHS has a very long history of supporting such services.
Do you think this collaboration can be equally beneficial for the NHS? Absolutely, there is a lot to learn from elsewhere. Innovation is happening globally, including in the emerging economies. It is all about co-learning and the co-sharing of ideas. Co-production is also important, and the NHS is in active partnership with many systems across the world. I personally think that for the NHS to be involved in this exchange of ideas is very exciting.
The NHS is of course a government system. How much do you think governments should be involved in healthcare systems around the world? Most healthcare systems are in one way or another government based. Some are insurance based but even the United States, which probably has the largest private health system in the world, still relies on government for pricing and regulation so you cannot dissociate the government’s role.
Do you think the opportunities for inward investment from overseas can be beneficial to the NHS?
It depends on what the opportunity involves. Most healthcare systems are struggling in terms of finding new ways of funding health and health care needs because of escalating costs. So while there are of course financial benefits, I believe the opportunity is still there to adopt innovations which improve quality and reduce cost rather than depending on overseas investment.
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Lord Darzi of Denham
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