Together, individuals, data and the health system can enable the urgent transition from sick care to preventive health. The sustainable health model is built upon the principles for sustainable health that are specified on the drawing below.
They fall broadly into three categories:
- The new social contract focuses on the role and activities of individuals and envisions a future where individuals are more responsible for their health, alleviating the burden on the healthcare system so that it can focus on those truly in need of care:
-
- Self-knowledge: The individual must be able to gain a holistic understanding of their health
-
- Trajectories: The individual must be able to predict the most likely development of their health over time
-
-
Values: The individual must be able to interact with the health system based on their own values
-
-
- Community: The individual must be able to rely on a network of people and resources that can support their health
-
- Health literacy: The individual must be able to identify realistic changes in their behaviour that can improve their health
-
- Co-creation: The individual must be able to be a partner in their healthcare, making decision together with their doctors
- The new business models look at the role and activities of systems, organisations and institutions in healthcare. In line with the new social contract, the new business models will reward those who take proactive action for their health and support those who cannot:
-
-
Data sources: The individual must be able to capture biological data, behavioural data, and self-reported data about their health
- Data sets: The individual must be able to aggregate, enrich, use, and share their health data
-
-
Data standards: The system must be able to apply interoperable standards to better enable the utilisation of health data
-
- Data outcomes: The system must be able to demonstrate health outcomes both for individuals and for the population
- The new data models tie the individuals and systems together such that both have a more holistic and a more granular overview of an individual’s health through data. Systems will also provide individuals with the data access and tools for interpreting and acting on their health data:
-
-
Prevention as a service: The system must enable the provision of preventive health services across the lifespan of individuals and populations
-
Prevention at scale: The system must proactively identify better preventive health opportunities across the lifespan of individuals and populations
-
Preventive ethics: Public discourse must stress how the system can become more sustainable and mandate better ways of developing and enforcing the law
-
Preventive partnerships: The preventive health model must operate beyond the limitations of short-term political lifecycles and traditional public-private stakeholder relationships
-
Preventive workforce: Increased flexibility in the workforce enabled by technological advances is the key to the transition to preventive health
-
Preventive incentives: The incentive structures of the system must reward preventive health services based on demonstrated value
-
The origins of the Sustainable Health Model
The sustainable health model pictured visualises the key concepts and insights developed over the course of the Nordic Health 2030 workshop series, for which key health actors from across the Nordics came together to envision the future of healthcare in the region. During the Nordic Health 2030 process, sustainability, and how a sustainable approach to health can be achieved, emerged as a key discussion point.