In Search of the Perfect Health System. Mark Britnell. (2015)
Why Nobody Believes the Numbers: Distinguishing Fact from Fiction in Population Health Management . Al Lewis. (2012)
It is sometimes useful to read two similar type books at the same time in order to contrast them and see different angles. This book review is part of a series looking at books in the technology, health services, and innovation domains.
In Search of the Perfect Health System by Mark Britnell was recommended to a colleague by someone saying “you need to read this book”. So, with that suggestion I ordered this book and put it on my reading list.
Britnell starts off the book saying that within a span of 6 years he visited 60 countries on nearly 200 occasions. This probably should have been a warning to me. It’s like person who takes a 14 day bus tour through Europe, visits 10 countries, and starts telling you about Europe and how to fix their problems.
Britnell seems to cover the standard issues in healthcare: aging population, chronic diseases, limited workforce, increasing costs, more technology, etc. I couldn’t really find anything that I thought was “novel” or of unique insight – although I did like the part about aging parents and having to live so many kilometers away from them.
One of the ways to assess the knowledge provided on such a wide body of information as provided in this book is to look at the part that you probably understand the best. If that piece looks suspect, then you could probably guess that same association holds across the other areas. With this in mind, the chapter on Canada was of interest. After reading it, it seems to me that Britnell had simply attended a conference in Ontario, and then wrote about what he had heard at the conference about “Ontario”. A trip to Manitoba and Alberta would have provided a completely different perspective on Healthcare in Canada.
I have a philosophy that you need to spend time and work in various areas and locations to gain a wide understanding. For example, I volunteered in Malawi, Africa for 2 years and found living there to be a very valuable learning experience. I know I wouldn’t have gained that much by going there for 3 weeks on some type of student exchange. This experience than essentially allows for transfer learning as I am able to use this experience in Zambia, lesser so in Kenya, more so in Samoa and the Philippines, and less so in Switzerland.
I think this book is probably good for people who haven’t had any exposure with international health and want a wider exposure. Bottom line: an aging population, chronic diseases, limited workforce, and increasing costs are major international issues that every country is trying to deal with.
More later….