Modern healthcare systems may be characterized as possessing a numbers problem: specifically, 60, 30, and 10. Despite all the resourcefulness and efforts of the past 30 years, the healthcare delivery cart is viewed as remaining locked in a debilitating underperformance rut, according to a paper reported in the periodical BMC Medicine on May 4, 2020. Care that adheres to guidelines hovers at 60% as shown by large empirical studies of multiple conditions in adults and children in the USA, England, and Australia. Some 30% of care is waste, duplication, or of low value, according to several authoritative sources including the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for which considerable expenditure cannot be justified. Many studies also have documented how iatrogenic harm or adverse events befall at least 10% of patients globally.
Headline numbers in health care persist and may become worse when taking into consideration everything that is flowing through the health innovation pipeline. Advances in precision medicine, genomics, new generation drugs, artificial intelligence, and brain sciences all are in various stages of development or implementation in health care, with the potential to do both good and harm to the system. If the 60-30-10 challenge represents a strong signal that the system is not fit currently for purpose, how will it cope with an avalanche of these advanced technologies? New evidence as it materializes has the potential to deliver new cures and to save and extend lives, but if not adopted effectively, or across-the-board, then the proportion of evidence-based care could fall, not rise. New technologies also increase the complexity of care and add more risk. If they do not provide an adequate return on investment may add more waste. They also could introduce more potential for increased iatrogenic harm. The authors conclude that the 60-30-10 challenge is impeding progress.
More May 2020 TRENDS Articles
RESEARCH AND EDUCATION AFTER THE PANDEMIC
Indicates the importance of recognizing how “confounding” as a source of bias threatens the process of causal inference in research practice. Read More
PRESIDENT’S CORNER
ASAHP President Phyllis King presents information about the Association’s five strategic objective areas and associated success measures. Read More
HEROES ACT PASSED IN HOUSE
Contains details about a proposed piece of legislation to furnish additional financial assistance to deal with economic consequences resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Read More
HEALTH REFORM DEVELOPMENTS
Points out how the federal-state Medicaid program is being augmented to provide insurance coverage and paid sick leave benefits for individuals negatively affected by job loss. Read More
DEVELOPMENTS IN HIGHER EDUCATION
Describes how Mad magazine’s Alfred E. Neuman’s motto of Quid Me Anxious Sum serves as a motivational factor for enjoying life once governmental lock-down provisions are relaxed and also how coronavirus stimulus funding is being distributed to colleges and universities. Read More
QUICK STAT (SHORT, TIMELY, AND TOPICAL)
Births: Provisional Data for 2019
Effects Of The COVID-19 Pandemic On Routine Pediatric Vaccine Ordering And Administration
Non-Invasive And Reversible Modulation Of Neuronal Activity To Diagnose And Treat Brain Disorders
Cracking Nature’s Most Common Chemical Bond To Improve Drug Effectiveness Read More
AVAILABLE RESOURCES ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONICALLY
What COVID-19 Epidemiologic Models Can And Cannot Tell Us
Supporting Student Health And Mental Well-Being
Caregiving In The United States 2020 Read More
RETHINKING THE “BENCH” AND “BEDSIDE” DICHOTOMY
Mentions how research activities might be understood better in the context of “discovery-invention” cycles rather than a basic/applied dichotomy that translates loosely to notions of bench and bedside research. Read More
ADDRESSING THE 60-30-10 CHALLENGE
Refers to a study that discusses how 60% of health care adheres to guidelines; 30% is represented by care that is waste, duplication, or low value; and 10% accounts for iatrogenic harm or adverse events. Read More