STAT: Dispatch from Davos: Hospitals of the future will not be traditional hospitals
Stephen K. Klasko, president of Thomas Jefferson University and CEO of Jefferson Health

“I had the honor of taking part in a panel on the future of hospitals [Saturday] at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The central question before us was this: ‘How can providers be more effective at addressing the social determinants of health before more patients arrive at the hospital door?’ … If we can combine ideas from consumer industries about engaging with people and applying the technology that gives each of us control of our own health data, we can disrupt legacy health care delivery in profound ways. … [One] disruptive vision can be made to work across income levels. It is easier to move health care to a phone than it is to move hospitals to remote communities. In fact, I believe we must get care to where patients are instead of getting patients to where care is located. That is a revolution that is starting now. … If we fail to embrace disruption, the consequences of clinging to legacy systems of care will become even greater, further growing a fragmented, expensive, inequitable health delivery system. … My prescription for an optimistic future for health care is straightforward: Embrace disruption. Make the patient the boss. And remember that our challenge as we create an optimistic future for health care, is envisioning communities of people who are physically, mentally, and socially healthy” (1/26).