IEEPO 2023 'Uniting in Action: Humanising Healthcare in Practice' event

It’s time to unite, take action and Humanise Healthcare together!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM THE EVENT

1. Healthcare should be developed with patients, not for patients: There needs to be optimum alignment and synergy of the interests, rights, and resource capacities between all healthcare stakeholders to ensure a truly inclusive, equitable, holistic and human-centred approach to universal healthcare. To be most effective, partnerships need to be based on shared responsibility, mutual accountability, and empowerment. There also exists a real need for better policy instruments to help engage patients in policy making to co-create healthcare policies that meet current needs. Putting patients at the heart of healthcare and involving patients in a diverse and inclusive way is the backbone of humanising healthcare.
2. Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: To drive inclusivity and help ensure everyone has the same level of optimised personal care, there is a need for stakeholders to work together to provide a service that engages with all communities.
   
3. Data & Digital: Patients are a source of valuable insights and data, however, data ownership and data privacy are essential and patients need to be educated to understand their data is their property. If used wisely, data and digitalisation of health can help to promote diversity, equity and inclusion and reduce health inequalities. Furthermore, interactions with policymakers need to be driven by data and insights, and that solutions are brought to the table with a long-term view.  As Dr Sawsan so eloquently put it, “we’re not spending, we’re investing”. 
4. Collaboration is key: Building strong and collaborative multi-stakeholder partnerships is a priority for working with policymakers to drive holistic, inclusive and Humanised Healthcare. 
5. Patient involvement is vital: The early and equal involvement of the patient community is absolutely vital. It is important to have a truly integrated approach, working together to ensure that the patient voice is not only heard but forms an integral part of healthcare decision-making.