Deloitte Global Health Care Outlook: Sector Challenges And Considerations For 2017

Aging population and chronic disease among drivers of increasing demand and spending Cost, care delivery, and innovation among top considerations for stakeholders NEW YORK, NY, USA, 12 January, 2017—Global health care expenditures are projected to reach US$8.7 trillion by 2020, up from US$7 trillion in 2015. This growth will be driven by an aging population and associated chronic disease, innovative clinical advancements, and rising technology and labor costs, according to Deloitte Global's report, 2017 Global Health Care Outlook: Making progress against persistent challenges released today.

"Today's health care demand and cost challenges appear likely to persist in the near-term, if not longer. Stakeholders need to address these risks to gain significant clinical and operational improvements," said Dr. Mitch Morris, Deloitte Global Life Sciences & Health Care Industry Leader. "Finding a path forward that works for all stakeholders will be difficult but necessary to provide high-quality care and services, equitable access, and optimal outcomes for patients at an affordable cost."

Established players, disruptive entrants, and governments are developing new solutions and approaches to improve care access and quality, and to control costs. Lacking definitive measurement, results to date appear mixed; however, according to the report, stakeholders that focus on five key considerations in 2017 can keep moving forward:

Cost: The world's major regions are expected to experience health care spending increases from 2.4 percent to 7.5 percent between 2015 and 2020. Providers finding it difficult to gain further cost and operational efficiencies should turn their attention to more transformative initiatives to bend the cost curve. Care Delivery: Lack of access to basic health care services and variations in care quality are persistent problems in many of the world's regions. Today's health challenges are complex and interrelated so care delivery models that use a multi-pronged and collaborative approach are more likely to yield positive results. Innovation: Robotic surgery, 3D printing, implantable devices, and other digital- and technology-enabled innovations that...