The global demand for high quality healthcare continues to rise unabatedly. It is projected that global spending on healthcare will increase from $9.1 trillion in 2017 to $18.3 trillion in 2040.[1]
The primary drivers for this growth are:
- Aging and increasing populations
- Emerging market expansions
- Advances in medical treatments
- Rising labour costs
Today, the number of people aged over 65 has increased to more than 656 million, or 11.5% of the total population. Emergency related healthcare costs represent less than 5% of total costs (U.S.).
High-income countries are expected to spend USD9,019 per person on health in 2040, compared to the projected USD1,935 for upper-middle income countries, USD507 in lower-middle income countries, and $164 in low-income countries.[2] This disparity in cost is driving healthcare tourism at increasing rates.
The cost of healthcare globally continues to rise and the disparity in cost for like services is not materially closing. Rather, Compound Annual Growth Rates (CAGR) are increasing the variances in costs for identical services.[3]
Furthermore, the cost for treating well researched and understood conditions is also increasing, not decreasing. For example, the cost of treating musculoskeletal system disorders such as arthritis has increased over 130% within 12 years.[4] This is fundamentally at odds with what is seen in other industries in which economies of scale lead to a reduction in unit costs.
The medical world is fundamentally at odds with what is seen in other industries, in which economies of scale lead to a reduction in unit costs.
The unit costs of healthcare are particularly highest in developed countries, led by the U.S. by a significant margin, where the healthcare cost per capita is more than twice that of the average of other developed countries.[5]
Considering the rapidly rising healthcare costs and the therefore unprecedented growth of medical tourism, the Health FX platform identifies appropriate, available and affordable healthcare expertise using Artificial Intelligence.
[1] Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Financing Global Health Visualization. Seattle, WA: IHME, University of Washington, 2017.
http://vizhub.healthdata.org/fgh/. (Accessed Mar 2018)
[2] http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)30167-2/supplemental
[3] World Industry Outlook, Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals, The Economic Intelligence Unit, June 2017
[4] Blended Account, Health Care Satellite Account, Bureau of Economic Analysis
[5] Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, OECD Health Statistics 2016
