Invest in social determinants of health to curb health spending: report

New York – The growing incidence of chronic diseases caused by personal behaviour and by social, economic and environmental factors threatens to overwhelm health budgets in both wealthy and poor countries and undermine the ability of modern medicine to improve lives, says a new report from PwC’s Health Research Institute.By investing earlier in strategies to help people with housing, exercise, mental health support and access to medications, governments and health systems could save money in the long term and improve health outcomes, according to the report, Action required: The urgency of addressing social determinants of health.There are opportunities for healthcare stakeholders to intervene to prevent or slow the progress of chronic disease, especially related to obesity and diabetes, says PwC, which projects that by 2025 many countries will see obesity/overweight rates exceeding 68% of the population.“Innovative medical treatments are rendered ineffective if people don’t have social support and access to resources readily available to help keep them well,” said Kelly Barnes, PwC’s global and U.S. health industries leader.“This is not optional; healthcare and government organizations that don’t act on social determinants will spend more and more money, only to watch health status decline.“Leaders in social determinants of health have built coalitions, harnessed the potential of data and predictive analytics, and identified where early investments in an intervention can have tremendous impact on people's health and lives,” added Barnes.“We can’t underestimate the transformative effect this action can have not only on health systems and governments, but the healthy life years we can give to more people across the globe.”PwC identifies what it calls five steps for bold action to help stakeholders develop strategies to address the social determinants of health, with reference to the results of its June 2019 global consumer survey:Build the collective will. Only 43% of respondents to the survey said their doctor had even raised the subject of social determinants with them. Other health workers, such as nurses, pharmacists and dietitians, talk about it at a lower level. A convener can help bring partners together across the system by demonstrating the long-term benefits of preventing more illness.Develop a framework that enables partners to work toward common goals. Once coalitions have been built, partners must overcome the everyday challenges of merging disparate workplaces with different missions, incentives and perspectives. About one-third of consumers in the survey indicated there was an opportunity to connect healthcare and social services more effectively.Generate data insights to inform decision-making. Predictive analytics can be used to consider both individual behaviour and the behaviour of populations. Many consumers do feel some individual responsibility to make a change, but 47% of respondents said healthcare providers don’t share predictions about the health services they may need in the future.Engage and reflect the community. Social determinants of health strategies must be grounded in the way people live and work. Over half of survey respondents reported they use or plan to use a smartphone to support their heath. Retailers, technology providers, home health workers and educators could provide new pathways to engage with consumers.Measure and redeploy. In Australia, a coalition dedicated to diabetes prevention set measurable goals, then started developing a diabetes dashboard to help measure which interventions worked and track trends in costs. An annual year-end review and plan for the year ahead helped further refine its strategy and investments.Download the PwC report at https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/healthcare/pdf/pwc-social-determinants-of-health.pdf

Invest in social determinants of health to curb health spending: report

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