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Technology can take the stress out of health care

The willingness of people to adopt and embrace technology offers the health service an opportunity to change to new models of care.

Jeroen Tas, the Chief Executive of Health Informatics Solutions and Services at Philips, said that health care needs to move away from being a ‘one-size-fits-all’ industry.

He told the Health and Innovation Expo 2015 in Manchester: “We need to create networks that drive new models of care, and there is a move towards putting patients at the centre of it all, and the patient gathering their own health data.

“The healthcare market is being recalibrated, and much of this change is the result of the revolution in data which is empowering people, including myself, to live healthier lives.

“As the consumer takes more control, the healthcare system needs to take into account the fact that any company can now become a healthcare provider – as long as their technology is meaningful to the customer.

“It will be the companies who are able to offer cutting-edge, highly personalised solutions – that are both meaningful and trustworthy – who will become our new health mentors.”

Mr Tas explained that the Five Year Forward View outlines the opportunity ahead. By integrating health management and care delivery, we can collaborate in new, efficient and highly patient centric ways, supporting each other in making more confident health and care decisions.

He added that both prevention and intervention were critical to future health care and taking stress out of the system.

“Prevention is absolutely critical and getting serious about prevention means getting access to actionable data.

“Now we have started collecting data and analysing data it means we also have potential for early intervention and avoiding the need for emergency care.

“There is a world of education and information that can be used to help people to help themselves.. We’re moving to a health continuum supported by new models and data.

Mr Tas, who has more than 30 years of global experience as an entrepreneur and senior executive in healthcare, information technology and financial services industries, added: “We’ve heard a lot about the stress in the system – of GPs under stress, of the problems of providing services across seven days and of financial stress. We believe we can take a lot of stress out of the system by moving to the new models of care.

“We’re big believers of the Five Year Forward View and that these new models can have a huge international impact.”