Leaving the darkness, seeing the light: A focus on people living with rare...
Leaving the darkness, seeing the light: A focus on people living with rare bone diseases is an Economist Intelligence Unit briefing paper, sponsored by Ipsen, a global pharmaceutical company. This independent research covers rare bone diseases and the patient experience in the US and Europe with policy lessons for healthcare professionals and policymakers. Review of the evidence in the literature and interviews with representatives of clinical practice and patient organisations were undertaken to help inform our research and this report. Our thanks are due to the following for their time and insights (listed alphabetically):
Inês Alves, founder and president, ANDO (National Patient Organization for Skeletal Dysplasia), patient expert and representative, European Reference Network for Rare Bone disorders (ERN BOND), EuRR-Bone registry member and chair of the European Rare Bone Forum, Portugal
Natasha Appelman-Dijkstra, clinical scientist and head at the Center for Bone Quality, Leiden University Medical Centre, Netherlands
Eric Rush, associate professor of paediatrics, University of Missouri Kansas City School of Medicine; clinical geneticist, Children’s Mercy Kansas City, US
Laura Tosi, director, Bone Health Program at Children’s National Hospital, Washington DC, US
Charlene Waldman, director, Rare Bone Disease Alliance, US
Executive summary
Approximately 5% of all rare diseases are rare bone diseases. And while there are more than 460 officially recognised rare bone diseases, each with different manifestations, the majority of patients will ultimately need complex, multi-disciplinary care and lifelong management that can include therapies and surgeries. For many of these, there is no known treatment.
In addition to the clinical complications, rare bone diseases are often plainly evident in the person’s stature, appearance and mobility. The symptoms are often debilitating, distressing and painful. The impact of rare bone diseases therefore extends quite significantly into psychological, social, financial and economic areas.
To bring light to the challenges faced by people living with rare bone diseases, their caregivers and the healthcare professionals that support them, The Economist Intelligence Unit embarked on a study to better understand the patient perspective and the factors that impact it.
Our research found there is much work to be done to improve the care pathways for people living with rare bone diseases and their caregivers. While there is diversity in symptoms and lifelong impact among rare bone diseases, there are common lessons for policymakers about the patient and caregiver experience in accessing appropriate healthcare and support.
Issues of note include:
There are few clinical experts managing rare bone diseases, and access to specialist clinics can be challenging in the US and Europe.
Education and support resources for clinicians, patients and their families are increasing, but more research needs to be undertaken, and lessons learned could increase patients’ quality of life and care.
Great advances are being made in understanding the pathogenesis of rare bone diseases and their treatments, but disseminating information to patients where needed is an ongoing challenge.
Patient registries are numerous but disjointed. Strong efforts are being made in Europe to create a shared registry, while similar efforts under way in North America are so far less successful.
There is a significant emphasis on paediatric research and clinical care, which is critically important. However, as patients eventually transition into adulthood they are often left without direction from experts managing their condition.
There are currently no cures for rare bone diseases and very few have targeted treatments, however, there have been great therapeutic advances in recent years and more are on the horizon. This is underpinned by developments in genetic diagnosis and greater understanding of the mechanisms involved in bone function and development.
Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
In many ways, Asia-Pacific societies are falling short in addressing the region’s current osteoporosis burden (discussed in an earlier article). They are certainly far from prepared for the likely growth in this health burden.
Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
For many years, recalls Dr Sattaya Rojanasthien – head of the Department of Orthopaedics at Chiang Mai University Hospital – doctors “tried to tell policy makers about the increasing burden of osteoporosis” in Thailand. Hard information to back up the assertion was limited. No reliable estimates exist, for example, for the prevalence of osteoporosis, while published figures on hip fractures cover individual cities and almost all are from before 2010. Nevertheless, even at that time, available data were already showing an increase in hip fractures of 2% per year at that time.1
Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Leaving the darkness, seeing the light: A focus on people living with rare bone diseases is an Economist Intelligence Unit briefing paper, sponsored by Ipsen, a global pharmaceutical company. This independent research covers rare bone diseases and the patient experience in the US and Europe with policy lessons for healthcare professionals and policymakers. Review of the evidence in the literature and interviews with representatives of clinical practice and patient organisations were undertaken to help inform our research and this report.
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Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Many schemes have been floated to increase manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 vaccines across the globe, an idea strongly supported by the WTO and the WHO.
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Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Care homes should be subject to far greater transparency and community oversight, especially in light of covid-19 deaths
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Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
The process of Health Technology Assessment (HTA) has been a key tool used by many European governments over the last two decades to evaluate healthcare innovations and ensure that those paying for healthcare get as much value—and benefit for patients—from their investment as possible.
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Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Medidas globales de financiación para eliminar el cáncer de cuello uterino:...
El cáncer de cuello uterino es el cuarto cáncer que se detecta con mayor frecuencia en mujeres en todo el mundo, aunque es uno de los tipos de cáncer que mejor se pueden tratar y más se pueden prevenir si se detectan a tiempo. La morbilidad y la mortalidad del cáncer de cuello uterino afectan de forma dispar a las mujeres de países con unos ingresos bajos o entre bajos y medios, y aquellas de los países más pobres. En 2020, la Organización Mundial de la Salud
(OMS) introdujo una iniciativa global para erradicar el cáncer de cuello uterino como problema de salud pública, y estableció objetivos intermedios para 2030.
Aunque existen dificultades en países con bajos recursos en torno a la viabilidad a largo plazo y la sostenibilidad económica de las iniciativas para abordar esta prioridad urgente de salud, la idea de conseguir una erradicación representa una nueva oportunidad de adoptar un enfoque de continuidad, en el que se toma como base la cobertura sanitaria universal y se exploran enfoques innovadores en cuanto a la financiación y la prestación a medida que los países amplían sus servicios de erradicación.
En este informe de The Economist Intelligence Unit se exploran algunos de desafíos de alto nivel asociados a la financiación de la erradicación del cáncer de cuello uterino en países con recursos limitados. Se aprovechar el conjunto de prioridades que se presenta a continuación para involucrar a los responsables de la toma de decisiones de financiación y políticas:
Generar información local para la toma de decisiones y el planteamiento de una financiación sanitaria. Se requiere un análisis en profundidad de la epidemiología, así como de los obstáculos para la detección del cáncer de cuello uterino y, cuando sea necesario, de los servicios de tratamiento de seguimiento en el ámbito del país, así como fundamentar la priorización de las soluciones más sostenibles y con el mayor impacto. Asimismo, dichos análisis deben identificar y abordar las deficiencias en materia de financiación y asignación de recursos dentro de los sistemas sanitarios.
Evaluar la financiación nacional y el alcance de los servicios de gran calidad mediante el uso de las herramientas disponibles de cálculo de costes y elaboración de modelos de la OMS para elaborar planes de ampliación graduales y viables. Las soluciones diseñadas para ajustarse a las limitaciones de asequibilidad y capacidad de cada país resultarán más sostenibles a largo plazo. Se debe dar prioridad al uso de las herramientas existentes de cálculo de costes y elaboración de modelos para identificar carencias y oportunidades para pasar gradualmente a programas de ámbito nacional. El éxito de los programas de erradicación depende de un enfoque sistemático y organizado, que se implementa a través del marco de una cobertura sanitaria universal bien planificada con presupuestos y planes de servicios sanitarios integrados.
Abogar por la integración en el ámbito de las políticas, la financiación, los programas y los servicios para alcanzar el éxito y la sostenibilidad. A la hora de abordar la sanidad pública, los enfoques independientes introducen deficiencias desde el punto de vista financiero que se deben evitar. Se debería obtener partido del solapamiento entre el cáncer de cuello uterino y otras prioridades de la sanidad pública —como el VIH y los servicios sanitarios de reproducción—, y aprovechar el marco de la estrategia de erradicación a nivel mundial de la OMS para generar una integración financiera. Se requiere un sólido liderazgo en el ámbitos nacional y de prestación de servicios para garantizar la integración y que se materialicen los beneficios asociados.
Utilizar soluciones financieras innovadoras y mixtas para complementar la financiación nacional. La financiación nacional de los servicios oncológicos —incluidos los del cáncer de cuello uterino— en países con bajos recursos es posible que no sea suficiente para ampliar los programas nacionales. Las consecuencias económicas globales de la pandemia de la COVID-19 afectarán aún más a los presupuestos sanitarios. Los países deben ampliar sus inversiones nacionales y hacer un mejor uso de los impuestos y los programas de seguros sociales, al tiempo que se aprovechan los sistemas de financiación suplementaria alternativos donde proceda. Debería plantearse un enfoque colaborativo por el que se aprovechen los bancos de desarrollo, la financiación mixta, el capital, la experiencia y la celeridad del sector privado.
Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
The Gulf states have an obesity problem. Between 31% and 43% of people in each of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations are obese, a proportion that grows to almost three-quarters when including overweight people.
17664
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Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
Taiwan’s fertility rate has declined dramatically over the past seventy years to about 1.05 children per woman today—well below the replacement rate of 2.1. This decline not only impacts population size, but also the structure of the population. As fertility falls the share of the population that are of working age also declines, while that of older people increases. This means that each worker must support, through his or her taxes, more retired people.
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Value-based healthcare in Sweden: Reaching the next level
The need to get better value from healthcare investment has never been more important as ageing populations and increasing numbers of people with multiple chronic conditions force governments to make limited financial resources go further.
These pressures, along with a greater focus on patient-centred care, have raised the profile of VBHC, especially in European healthcare systems. Sweden, with its highly comprehensive and egalitarian healthcare system, has been a leader in implementing VBHC from the beginning, a fact that was underscored in a 2016 global assessment of VBHC published by The Economist Intelligence Unit.
This paper looks at the ways in which Sweden has implemented VBHC, the areas in which it has faced obstacles and the lessons that it can teach other countries and health systems looking to improve the value of their own healthcare investments.
Breast cancer patients and survivors in the Asia-Pacific workforce
With more older women also working, how will the rising trend of breast cancer survivorship manifest in workplace policies, practices and culture? What challenges do breast cancer survivors face when trying to reintegrate into the workforce, or to continue working during treatment? How can governments, companies and society at large play a constructive role?
This series of reports looks at the situation for breast cancer survivors in Australia, New Zealand and South Korea. It finds that while progress has been made, more needs to be done, particularly in South Korea, where public stigma around cancer remains high.
Cardiovascular diseases levy a substantial financial toll on individuals, their households and the public finances. These include the costs of hospital treatment, long-term disease management and recurring incidence of heart attacks and stroke. They also include the costs of functional impairment and knock-on costs as families may lose breadwinners or have to withdraw other family members from the workforce to care for a CVD patient. Governments also lose tax revenue due to early retirement and mortality, and can be forced to reallocate public finances from other budgets to maintain an accessible healthcare system in the face of rising costs.
As such, there is a need for more awareness of the ways in which people should actively work to reduce their CVD risk. There is also a need for more primary and secondary preventative support from health agencies, policymakers and nongovernmental groups.
To inform the decisions and strategies of these stakeholders, The Economist Intelligence Unit and EIU Healthcare, its healthcare subsidiary, have conducted a study of the prevalence and costs of the top four modifiable risk factors that contribute to CVDs across the Asian markets of China, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.
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