In a search for health care news online, the common thread across all of the news stories are the significant changes facing health care providers. From the influx of demand created by aging baby boomers to on-again, off-again health care reform legislation in the United States, health care provider organizations are grappling with how to plan for an uncertain future.
In this episode of The Cerner Podcast, we're featuring Rachel Maguire, research director for the Institute for the Future, a nonprofit think tank that helps organizations plan for the long-term future. Rachel discusses how future-thinking can help solve health care issues for today and tomorrow. She also explores the future of caregiving and how we can reimagine the role of the caregiver.
Rachel answers the following questions:
- Tell me about the Institute of the Future and your platform. It can be difficult for some of us to think even a month ahead, and the Institute for the Future looks a decade ahead. When you describe yourself as a futurist, what does that mean to you?
- Let’s unpack that idea of understanding the future so that we can make better decisions about the present. What are some of the ideas facing the health care industry today that are going to influence our tomorrow?
- Let’s talk about a recent study you completed on the future of caregiving. Stats show we’re headed for a caregiving cliff. Today there are seven potential caregivers for every person needing care, but by 2030 that ratio will drop to four caregivers for each care receiver. You called your study “Caregiving 2031.” Why 2031?
- What are alternative futures or solutions that you highlighted in your study and that will help us alleviate the burden of caregivers to help improve the quality of caregiving?
- A big part of the work you do involves thinking about the long-term future. What are some of the decisions that health care leaders can take to produce a better future for caregivers?
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