Sometimes, as the old adage has it, you can’t see the wood for the trees. It’s a point that comes to mind when contemplating the future of healthcare, which is our Focus theme for this issue of Dialogue. For most of 2020, it has been impossible to see beyond the pandemic.
Understandably so: frankly, the forest has been on fire. Coronavirus has posed a colossal challenge to public health systems and care providers around the world. It has sucked the oxygen from the air; fighting it has absorbed leaders’ energy and attention. Even where the inferno has been contained, it has not been extinguished: as numerous countries can attest, the embers can quickly spark new conflagrations. The old normal is gone for good and who, amid the flames, has the capacity to think for the long term?
And yet we ignore the long term at our peril, because beneath it all, the landscape has continued to shift. Transformative trends were already at play in the sector pre-pandemic. Unlocking the power of data is vital at a time when digital technologies are revolutionizing both treatment and prevention. Urbanization and demographic changes are rewriting the sector’s priorities. Organizations need to be more flexible, innovative and patient-centric. Complex challenges abound.
So in this issue’s Focus, we lift one eye to the horizon, while also looking more closely at the still-burning Covid fire. Global health specialist Jonathan Quick has been in demand as an analyst of the pandemic: don’t miss his take on how the response has been managed and what lies ahead. Dignity Health chief financial officer Doug Watson reflects on how his organization has handled the crisis, and infectious diseases expert Duane J Gubler sketches a new strategy for preventing the next pandemic. As he shows, the economic factors that make epidemics more likely – and more damaging – are unlikely to change, so leadership is urgently needed to ensure we’re better prepared.
Beyond the pandemic, Giles Lury turns his attention to five of the big trends reshaping the environment for medical marketers. Ed Barrows considers how leaders can build resilience, with insights that are relevant well beyond the health sector.
Widening our gaze, Stephen Bevan looks at how 2020’s remote-working revolution has affected our health, and Uma Naidoo explains how leaders can break bad eating-habits in times of stress and develop healthy habits to boost performance and immune response. Great healthcare starts with self-care, and that begins with what we eat.
If you prefer a Covid-free read, click straight through to Michael Bungay Stanier for his brilliant take on the value of curiosity, and to Henrik Werdelin’s explanation for how big organizations can plant the seeds of growth.
Otherwise, signs of the virus are to be found throughout the issue – but rest assured, like antibodies, they’re markers of a healthy response. Vivek Wadhwa argues the virus will prove to be an accelerant of profoundly progressive social and technological change, while Rita Gunther McGrath makes the case for a new deal between business and society. And Sanyin Siang points out that for individuals, as for organizations, a moment of crisis can also be one of reinvention and reinvigoration. It’s a reassuring thought at a uniquely tough time, and an upbeat note to end the magazine.
Otherwise, signs of the virus are to be found throughout the issue – but rest assured, like antibodies, they’re markers of a healthy response. Vivek Wadhwa argues the virus will prove to be an accelerant of profoundly progressive social and technological change, while Rita Gunther McGrath makes the case for a new deal between business and society. And Sanyin Siang points out that for individuals, as for organizations, a moment of crisis can also be one of reinvention and reinvigoration. It’s a reassuring thought at a uniquely tough time, and an upbeat note to end the magazine.
Wherever you are, we wish you good health and good fortune in leading your organizations through the challenges you face.
Enjoy the issue.
The Dialogue Team