Health care in 2020 will need to be increasingly rolled back towards community and home based services, according to a report published on December 7 by the Foresight health care panel established by the Government.
The panel, which consisted of senior health care professionals and representatives of the Department of Health and the pharmaceutical industry, looked at some of the major trends in society and technology which could affect health care provision over the next 20 years.
The panel felt that more rolled-back care was needed and that this would include an enhanced role for community pharmacists. The provision of such care would be helped by patient-held health records which could be accessed by relevant health care professionals, as authorised by patients. The report notes that "linkage between care in hospital and in the community, including pharmacy use, will be crucial".
Health care 2020, Foresight health care panel report [URN 00/1187], Foresight Directorate, Office of Science and Technology, Department of Trade and Industry (fax 020 7215 6715, website www.foresight.gov.uk).