Doctors are being urged to take up leadership roles in medicine and public life by the Royal College of Physicians to improve health outcomes.
Its report, Future Physicians: changing doctors in changing times, says doctors are in an ideal position to drive positive changes in healthcare over the coming decade.
The working group behind the report investigated change in health services, economics and information and communication technology.
They conclude that healthcare costs are likely to increase faster than the growth in national income, forming an increasingly large part of the economy. Demand for doctors will remain strong and they’ll be expected to play a central role in doing more with less.
Increased access to health information will change the doctor/patient relationship, as doctors play more of a role in interpreting and managing information.
Clinical decision-making will be affected by increased scrutiny, guidelines and budgetary considerations and there will be more focus on CPD and re-accreditation.
Technology is likely to affect communication, workflow and relationships, and the latter has the most potential to engage patients in the process of creating reliable healthcare.
In this changing environment, physicians of the future need to be properly equipped to continue to meet the needs of patients.
The report calls for a commitment to leadership - in health, policy and politics - in order to accelerate improvement in health outcomes. And there needs to be engagement with areas of public policy that seek to reduce health inequalities, improve wellbeing and promote understanding of health.
New information technology needs to be embraced, it says, including the research potential of nationally coordinated electronic records.
The profession also needs to engage fully with patients, their organisations and the health service to develop valid performance measures that are clinically meaningful and improve patient care.
Prof Ian Gilmore, president of the Royal College of Physicians, said: “This report traces out the stark challenges facing health and healthcare for the next generation and it clearly identifies medical leadership as one of the key solutions. Doctors must be prepared to take a lead, not just in developing their own clinical services but in shaping the wider landscape on which our futures depend.”
Peter Smith, professor of health policy at Imperial College London, added: “The key challenge facing the NHS is how to reconcile ever-increasing demands with constrained resources, a dilemma brought into very clear focus by the impending financial austerity. This report highlights the crucial responsibility that doctors have for ensuring that NHS money is spent wisely. How doctors respond to the challenge will have a major influence on the shape of our future health services and the wellbeing of the country.”
Read the full report.
Tags: Leadership
