Scientific Data could be an instrument to reduce company healthcare and medical treatment costs
Brazil’s healthcare system is struggling with several different issues. While constant budget cuts have led to a considerable drop in services provided by the Unified Healthcare System (SUS), the exponential increase in healthcare inflation and costs in the private system puts pressure on operators to look for ways to cut costs.
This trend makes room for management processes in the area. One of the methods is called Evidence-Based Medicine (EBM), which, alongside other sources of scientific information, becomes a crucial tool to promote change and scientific knowledge applied to healthcare practices, in addition to becoming a key ally in efforts to control costs.
This was the motto of the lecture “The Importance of Evidence-Based Medicine for Clinic and Hospital Management”, given by professors Adriana André, Coordinator of the Executive MBA in Administration in Clinic, Hospital and Healthcare Industry Management, and Fábio Ferreira de Carvalho Junior, a professor from the program, within the 6th Executive Education Week, held by FGV Executive Education Sao Paulo, to an eclectic audience composed of lawyers, executives and employees connected to pharmaceutical companies and hospitals.
According to Fábio Ferreira, who is also an allergist doctor, EBM tries to follow four steps: definition of the diagnosis, sources of scientific information and their respective reviews, preparation of the protocol, and calculation for determining the final cost, where pharmacovigilance and pharmacoeconomics principles would apply.
“This process becomes increasingly crucial in an environment where knowledge about new medical procedures is becoming faster and faster. In 1950, medical knowledge would double every 50 years. In 2020, this period should fall down to 73 days. Students who graduate this year will have to deal with double the amount of information that was available when they joined the undergraduate course”, said the physician.
Ferreira points out that hospitals and healthcare operators are struggling to cope with so much information, which consists of new drugs, new procedures and new equipment. “Companies still incorporate elements such as cloud, blockchain, non-invasive practices, resonances, which have an impact on costs and healthcare inflation. Therefore, data articulation becomes critical to improve the allocation of resources, which are finite”, said the professor.
Not only the private system, but the public system can also benefit from the increase in EBM. “Currently the SUS efficiency index in primary care is estimated at 63%, dropping to 29% when it is necessary to adopt a highly complex procedure. The use of these instruments could provide savings of US$ 115 billion”, said the professor.
On July 23-27, FGV held in Sao Paulo the sixth edition of the “Executive Education Week”, with 12 free lectures by great names from the market on various topics linked to management and the executive programs offered by FGV. Go to the website to learn more about FGV Executive Education’s courses.
