This article presents the book Healthcare Systems: Future Predictions for Global Care, written by key policymakers, scholars and experts, and looking at health systems and their projected successes to 2030. It highlights two key contributions, the analysis of five trends shaping the future healthcare landscape and the nine main themes that arise from its chapters. These contributions can help strengthen the efforts of stakeholders interested in reforms, such as international organizations, national health departments, quality and safety agencies, NGOs and other groups with an interest in improving healthcare delivery systems.
Reference: Jeffrey Braithwaite et al. The future of health systems to 2030: a roadmap for global progress and sustainability. International Journal for Quality in Health Care (2018) 30 (10): 823-831, doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzy242. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Quality in Health Care.

Two regional reports are presented. The report on Asia/Pacific presents a set of key indicators on health and health care systems to measure the progress of Asia-Pacific countries towards the SDGs. It also includes dashboards to compare health system performance across countries. The report on Europe presents comparative analyses of the health status of EU citizens and the performance of the health systems of European countries. A first part focuses on the need for concerted efforts to promote better mental health and outlines possible strategies for reducing wasteful spending in health. The second part presents the most recent trends in key indicators of health status, risk factors and health spending, together with a discussion of progress in improving the effectiveness, accessibility and resilience of European health systems. 

The Playbook gathers resources primarily aimed at US health care providers participating in value-based payment models, to help improve health outcomes for patients with complex needs. It is addressed to health system leaders, policy makers and payers and offers guidance on identifying people with complex needs, case studies on promising approaches, information about the business case, and more. Resources include peer-reviewed journal articles, case studies, step-by-step guides, and practical tips.

On December 18th, 2018 the Paris-based think-tank Digital Leaders in Health organized a conference to evaluate the impact of value-based healthcare on current challenges in healthcare systems, namely financial sustainability, ageing population with chronic conditions and sky-rocketing medical costs. Digitalization was broadly examined as part of the wining equation to help solve these factors originated by lack of data on patient-centered outcomes. Wrong payment models and lack of interoperability across services and countries, were also identified as outstanding facts together with poor Health literacy among patients, a need for a global taxonomy of international scope and an alliance with the private sector. Accelerating the pace of health system transformation by speeding up digitization of healthcare was the concluding remark and the latest report from the World Economic Forum, main contributor to the conference.

Representatives of Latin-American healthcare organizations met in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in October 2018 to discuss "Education and Health". They argued that educating people, by stimulating prevention and security, can increase the life expectancy of the population. They put forward education as a more sustainable solution than medicalization to tackle disease. To this end, countries could integrate schools of education and health, colleges and university programs to create healthy habits, raise public awareness and implement prevention policies.
Resources from the Congress on Education and Health organized by CAES (IHF Member) are available here (in Spanish).

Hospitals and health service providers interested in showcasing their innovations, best practices and outstanding programs to the international community are encouraged to submit their abstracts online for any of the three sub-themes: Resilient health services, Health investment for prosperity, Innovation for health impact.

FHF represents almost all the French public healthcare sector. It promotes public hospitals and social care public institutions through a major annual event, the Paris Healthcare Week, it trains healthcare professionals and organizes  campaigns public hospitals and hospital staff. Healthcare professionals receive advice from FHF on daily practical issues they face. Finally, FHF partners with public authorities to elaborate proposals and assist the implementation of reforms in the hospital sector. 

​​​​​​​More information on FHF and the French healthcare system in the full bulletin below.

The provision of health care in France is organized as follow: planning and regulation within health care involve provider representatives, the state, and Statutory Health Insurance, the national strategy and budgeted expenses allocation to health care delivery services are overseen by the central government, population health and health care are overseen by regional health agencies representing the ministry. Public hospitals, financed by compulsory health insurance (80%), voluntary insurance and direct payment to patients, account for about 65% ​​of hospital capacity and activity. For-profit facilities account for another 25% and the rest is accounted by not-for-profit facilities. Other health services facilities include services for mentally ill people, public care services and ambulatory centers.

The French Hospital Federation represents the majority of public healthcare facilities in France. It also plays a role in elaborating and implementing reforms in the hospital sector. Some of its proposals are consistent with the reforms proposed by the current French President aiming at overhauling the French health system. However, these ameliorations do not tackle the financial difficulties hospital is now facing. Another challenge globally encountered is to ensure that the largest number of citizens benefits from healthcare improvements. C. Arcos (left photo) and A. Thomas (right photo) expect IHF to discuss how to provide efficient and appropriate care to citizens in the sharing of global good practices among members, be closer to its members to better understand their needs and foster peer collaboration, and be able to deliver a good insight into world health. IHF could be a knowledge exchange hub where members from all the world share best practices and experiences. To this end IHF should expand and diversify its membership. 

Detailed interviews are reported in the full bulletin below. 

The Brazilian Hospital Federation has been representing the hospital sector for more than 50 years. It participates in the decision making process for the sector and also works together with other actors such as national agencies (ANS and ANVISA) and the Ministry of Health. It supports better working conditions and service quality provided by health services providers. 
FBH acts as a voice for its members, improves the efficiency of health services and promote knowledge sharing through events and publications.

Find more information on its achievement, the Qualification Program, its current priorities and its supportive role to hospitals and their leaders in the full bulletin below.