Attaining minimally disruptive medicine: context, challenges and a roadmap for implementation.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Patient-Centered Care
• Health Systems Research

Background:

• Healthcare systems face dual challenges of access barriers and overmedicalisation.
• These issues stem from imbalances between patient workload and their capacity to manage care.
• Existing models like evidence-based medicine and patient engagement strategies present tensions with MDM.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the Cumulative Complexity Model's concepts of patient workload and capacity to minimally disruptive medicine (MDM).
• To analyze challenges and tensions in implementing MDM within the current healthcare context.
• To propose a roadmap for practical MDM implementation.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing the language of patient workload and capacity from the Cumulative Complexity Model.
• Identifying and addressing five key tensions between MDM and existing healthcare approaches.
• Outlining three strategic pathways for MDM implementation.

Main Results:

• Healthcare access and overmedicalisation are linked to patient workload-capacity imbalances.
• Five significant tensions between MDM and current practices were identified and analyzed.
• A three-tiered roadmap for MDM implementation was developed, ranging from paradigm shifts to modular approaches.

Conclusions:

• Minimally disruptive medicine offers a framework to address systemic healthcare imbalances.
• Addressing tensions and adopting strategic implementation pathways are crucial for MDM adoption.
• MDM can be integrated into existing systems through scalable or modular strategies.