Nacho Abia. CEO for the Americas and head of global strategy at Olympus; Leading company in the development of minimally invasive medical technologies. Based in Pennsylvania.
What can we learn about the quality of healthcare in the United States?
Despite all the ills that afflict American healthcare, which are many and very severe - the main ones being the lack of free universal access and the enormous cost of healthcare services - there are some areas where the excellent healthcare we have in Barcelona can learn some things about what happens in cities like New York or Boston.
Firstly, the quality of the service received by patients in all phases of medical care. It is not surprising that in a country where healthcare is understood as a business, the patient is seen as a client for whom healthcare institutions must compete and build loyalty. This fact means that the services received are usually of a very good level. Patient/client satisfaction is evaluated throughout the entire disease treatment process and healthcare professionals are incentivized based on this. The second aspect is the deep specialization in certain medical technologies and procedures that American healthcare professionals have, and which is only possible thanks to the learning, training and promotion possibilities that exist in the United States.
How to transfer that experience to Barcelona?
The quality of healthcare in Barcelona is excellent, universal, free for the patient and with institutions, such as the Hospital Clínic, Vall d'Hebrón and many others, leading in results and innovation. American healthcare has a lot to learn from what is happening in Barcelona.
On the other hand, waiting lists, the frustration of many health professionals due to lack of means, low salaries and low possibilities of professional promotion, are endemic ills that affect health services and for which there does not seem to be a solution. in the short term, and this means that the experience of patients is not as good and human as that required in situations of tension and anguish caused by a disease. It is obvious that in these situations the clinical solution is the most important thing, but we must not underestimate the impact of all associated services to give the patient the reassurance, advice and encouragement necessary to approach treatment and recovery quickly and with the best quality of life.
For all these reasons, we must bet on valuing our health professionals and taking more care of those professions that benefit everyone.
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