The way health care is viewed and approached must become more holistic and patient-centered, according to a Bayer executive.
An increase in medical care combined with an aging population has strained health care budgets and causes many challenges for countries worldwide. As a result, there is a growing need to view and approaches health care in a more holistic way to improve patients' care, Dieter Weinand, president of pharmaceuticals at Bayer, argued in a recent Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America blog post.
Looking into spending increases, a large amount of money has been spent on prescription medication and inefficient care that is not beneficial to patients. Using medication properly could save the U.S. as much as $215 billion each year, Weinand wrote.
Additionally, there is also a great need to change the approach of policies to improve the pharmaceutical innovation process, he argued in the post. Doing so would positive effects on other parts of health care such as a reduction in emergency room visits and an overall boost to the economy.
Finally, Weinand wrote there needs to be a shift toward a system in which payment is not assumed to be a possibility for systems that don't work, but rather is only expected when a solution is reached.
