We believe the status quo in healthcare is no longer an option. If we want to maintain the highest quality healthcare across Europe that is universally accessible, then we have to radically transform the way that we provide services, place a stronger emphasis on prevention and how we intervene with patients at an earlier stage, and empower citizens to take more control and manage their own health.

We strongly believe that it is only by working together that we can truly meet the healthcare needs of future generations. That’s why, through the great collaboration of many likeminded people in Europe, the European Steering Group on Sustainable Healthcare (ESG) launched the Roadmap for Sustainable Healthcare earlier this year; a pan European white paper with 18 recommendations for governments to help make our healthcare systems more sustainable in the EU.

A challenging climate
Today, Europe’s healthcare systems are encountering unprecedented challenges. 86 percent of deaths are from chronic diseases and 37 percent of Europe’s population is forecast to be over 60 by 2050. Our EU-wide white paper aims to set out our solutions to help tackle this by providing recommendations for improving care, ensuring better outcomes for patients, and generating savings that are sustainable through both innovation and efficiency.

The ESG was formed in 2014, as an active ‘Do Tank’, composed of healthcare experts from the policy environment, healthcare professionals, academics and industry representatives from across Europe. We believe it takes all of us to make a difference, which is why we are working together with governments, healthcare practitioners, academics and patients to find solutions to shared sustainable healthcare challenges.

The cooperative solution
How do we work together? By launching over 30 pilot projects across Europe, we are implementing a series of pilot programmes that could be mainstreamed or scaled up. By learning from the best of those pilots, we have been able to develop our roadmap, which focuses on three core actions: investing in prevention and early intervention, fostering empowerment and responsible citizens, and reorganising delivery of care.

Our pilots are already delivering results. In Spain, for example, for every €1 investment, it is possible to generate a total saving of €11 in health and social welfare by investing smartly in prevention and early intervention for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. Meanwhile, in Ireland the use of remote devices by discharged patients has shown how readmission to a nursing home or hospital can be avoided for one third of all patients, enabling them to stay at home while saving €740 a day.

As we move into the next phase of activity, we are now taking our proofs-of-concept to EU and national policymakers and governments. We want Europe to be able to work together and we have already been able to start scaling up some of the successful pilot models. Of course, we don’t claim to have all the answers; there will be further learning along the way. But our goal is to enable lasting impact. We all know Europe’s healthcare systems need radical change, so now is the time to act.

Figures used in this article are retrieved from official statistics provided by the United Nations, World Health Organisation, Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development, and the European Union. The white paper contains a detailed list of references.