The C-E-O at Horizon Health
John McGarry has been given the mandate to reduce the cost of healthcare which
was increasing year by year above the rate of inflation and swallowing up a
greater percentage of the provincial budget.
McGarry tells Tide News the
revamping of healthcare will be the norm from now on because the provincial
government wants it to run more like a business and, as such, there will be
destabilisation among the workers in healthcare.
McGarry says the technology is
there to allow lots of things to occur at a distance which will restrain costs.
He estimates if 2 per cent in cost efficiencies can be found in the system each
year and growth can be limited to 4 per cent, the system should be sustainable
with an annual increase in funding of 2 per cent.
One of the messages to be
delivered to the Big Data conference getting underway today at the Trade and
Convention Centre is that improved patient outcomes and increased cost
effectiveness is within our reach with the intelligent application of data
science to healthcare.