INTRODUCTION BY EAN GARRETT, J.D.
Chief Executive Officer, Infinite 8 Institute, L3C
There are often many formalities and procedures as well as other hierarchy of thought that the medical field has traditionally followed as a business model. With a new century, arrives an urgent need to transform the way we think about providing services in the healthcare sector. In a field full of specialists, the heavy integration of cross-sector disciplines in collective impact efforts, must also lead to the adoption of external viewpoints by the medical field and constant adaptation and learning.
The Micro-Health Impact Bond (Micro-HIB) is not the sole answer but it is a tool that has the potential to help get us there. There is a huge burden on the healthcare system from widespread issues, such as Depression, Heart Disease, and Pneumonia, which form a large sum of healthcare related costs. As a result there is a larger pressure on the healthcare system with a smaller set of resources. In such an environment, continued existence relies on the ability to navigate the current healthcare landscape, which is plush with uncertainty.
However, the strategic implementation of initiatives and the efficient utilization of resources in the form of Social Impact Bonds (SIBs), provides a unique opportunity to pilot innovative healthcare products and services that may provide potential systematic solutions. The Micro-Health Impact Bond (Micro-HIB), is a further step in that direction. The aim of the model is to provide creative financing for the design and implementation of innovative and prototypical global healthcare initiatives. The model brings outcomes to the forefront of the healthcare paradigm, and the consequence is putting the patient back at the center of everything.
The Micro-HIB, was created specifically to address the ailing issues at the forefront of hefty costs associated with patient readmissions and emergency admissions. However, we expect the model to widely expand in the coming years to include many other health subjects. In the private sector, if a client base continually returned with a similar problem unsolved there would be a strong effort to address the issue. When a person’s very existence and well-being are the issue, an even more valiant effort should be made to effectively and efficiently address a customer’s needs.
Over the past year we have communicated with healthcare professionals and researched the finest healthcare systems in the world. Every community and population is faced with a unique set of challenges, both measurable and immeasurable. The role and potential of various technologies in the future of medical science cannot be denied, such as wearable technologies. The Micro-SIB provides a replicable framework for healthcare professionals from which to launch the next life-saving technology or methodology. We hope that this will be the start of a much larger conversation concerning where we can go from here.
What are your medical institutions most pressing needs? Please share your experiences with us!
Ean Garrett, J.D.
Chief Innovation Officer, Infinite 8 Institute, L3C