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Building a sustainable health system
1Centre for Health Informatics, University of New South Wales, Australia. e.coiera@unsw.edu.au
Yearbook of Medical Informatics
|December 6, 2007
Summary
Health systems face unsustainable demands and dwindling resources. Applying principles from environmental science and organizational theory, alongside information technology, is key to creating sustainable healthcare.
Area of Science:
- Healthcare Management
- Environmental Science
- Organizational Theory
Background:
- Global health systems grapple with escalating demands and shrinking resources, posing significant sustainability challenges.
- Existing models for sustainable organizations in environmental science and organizational theory offer valuable insights for healthcare.
- Information technology (IT) plays a pivotal role in enabling health organizations to achieve sustainability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To perform a fundamental sustainability analysis of health systems.
- To explore conceptual and practical models for creating sustainable healthcare organizations.
- To investigate the role of information technologies in fostering sustainable health enterprises.
Main Methods:
- A comprehensive review of contemporary literature on sustainable systems.
- Analysis and adaptation of existing literature to the unique context of healthcare.
- Extension of theoretical frameworks to practical healthcare applications.
Main Results:
- Four core physical system conditions for sustainability (resource management, meeting human needs) are applicable to healthcare.
- Healthcare resources extend beyond materials and energy to include personnel, data, information, and knowledge.
- Information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as electronic health records and decision support systems, are essential for managing healthcare processes, but improper application can lead to unsustainable IT legacies.
Conclusions:
- Nations must conduct formal sustainability analyses of their health systems to pinpoint critical challenges.
- A long-term strategy involving innovative service design is necessary to enhance overall system sustainability.
- Implementation of supportive health system policies, infrastructure, and services is crucial for ensuring a healthy health system for the future.
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