Building a quality future.

Abstract

How can healthcare leaders stay ahead of the curve? What can they do to see what the future holds and to secure a place for their employees and their organizations? They must begin doing today what they need to do to survive tomorrow. Furthermore, they must take wise action today or there will be no tomorrow. This article looks into the future and connects it with what we must see and do today. The article begins with a glimpse of the future and with an exploration of what people really want from health and healthcare. Next, it examines what appear to be inexorable megatrends and healthcare trends that are sweeping through society. This leads us to consider the quality and value imperatives that must be faced to secure a stake in the healthcare delivery. We will discuss a model for managing care for individual patients and small populations by focusing on where patients, populations, and caregivers meet--at the front lines of patients care. We conclude with some advice on how to build sustainable organizations by exploiting the inevitable.