'It’ll never work in our healthcare system’ sneered the health minister. 'Our system is different and unique’.

‘Nor ours’, added their international counterpart. ‘Our people, system, and health issues are all entirely idiosyncratic’.

Except…well…they’re not, are they? If the pandemic showed us anything, it’s that health doesn’t really care about lines on a map. Every system has its own challenges, its own quirks, its own individualities. But better outcomes were never achieved by looking only inwards.

What can we learn from our neighbours? What technology, best practices and ways of working can we transfer to improve our own systems? And how do we ensure the default setting is symbiosis, not silos?

It's been 2,500 years since Herodotus uttered the phrase ‘Great deeds are usually wrought at great risks’, and yet despite a two-and-a-half-millennia head start, risk and healthcare remain uneasy bedfellows.

he history of healthcare is littered with pioneers who took extraordinary risks - from Jenner's smallpox vaccine to Curie’s pioneering work with radiation. But with medical litigation on the rise across Europe, have we become too risk-averse to usher in a new era of medicine?

At a high level, the map of players in European healthcare is a relatively simple one. Payers, providers, life sciences, healthtech.

But new players are moving into the space. Organisations that aren't generally associated with health. Think Uber, energy providers or postal services. And many more…

These unconventional entrants are reshaping a new corner of the landscape by capitalising on their expansive networks and customer bases. This diversification underscores the dynamic evolution underway within the European healthcare ecosystem.

As these new players continue to redefine health, how might their entry influence the roles of the traditional healthcare players? What innovative solutions could arise from this expanding map of players? And what can we all learn from the new kids on the block?

Healthcare: 2024. A frenzy of fee-for-service, spiralling costs, workforce burnout and pandemic fallout.

But look up to the skies? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s radical reimbursement! In it swoops. Caped and charismatic. Challenging the status quo. Embracing a new approach. Instead of counting pennies for every procedure, it clamours for change.

As Europe's population swells and ages, this radical rebel is needed more than ever. Rewarding providers for delivering first-class care and outstanding outcomes. Championing patient satisfaction and cost-efficiency. Be gone, old ways – radical reimbursement is here!

So how can reimbursement be repurposed to meet the needs of today’s health systems and patients? And who’s responsible for the change?