By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthy hobbies
    The Importance of Hobbies for Our Health
    September 15, 2024
    Whiplash
    Understanding Whiplash: A Guide For Healthcare Practitioners
    January 22, 2025
    research chemicals and health care
    Chemical Research Drive Medical Breakthroughs
    June 14, 2023
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Hospitals and Providers Using NHIN (Nationwide Health Information Network)
    March 11, 2012
    Image
    Physicians With High Productivity And Satisfaction Scores Employ Strong Patient-Centered Communication Skills
    May 7, 2013
    My Solution to the Healthcare Crisis
    March 31, 2012
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: What Healthcare Can Learn from the G20 Summit
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > What Healthcare Can Learn from the G20 Summit
Global HealthcareSocial Media

What Healthcare Can Learn from the G20 Summit

Paul Tunnah
Paul Tunnah
Share
6 Min Read
pharmaphorum
SHARE

pharmaphorumThe news over the last week has been dominated by the G20 summit taking place in Australia, as the world’s leaders gather to discuss some of the most pressing global issues.

pharmaphorumThe news over the last week has been dominated by the G20 summit taking place in Australia, as the world’s leaders gather to discuss some of the most pressing global issues. No doubt you will have all  seen the headlines – Putin has been put firmly on the naughty step over Russia’s actions in Ukraine, Cameron has been fretting about the ‘red warning lights’ appearing on the economic dashboard and, from a more health-centred perspective, Ebola remains high on the agenda as concerns remain about the spread of the deadly virus.

But there are far broader parallels between the G20 summit and the challenges faced by healthcare.

Human nature drives us towards grouping together with those who have common interests to ourselves. It’s very visible in politics, where meetings like this are dominated in the home press by  whether the country leaders are doing the best for their own nation and , even within countries, by the splintering of opinions depending on allegiance to political parties – just look at the way the recent US mid-term elections have divided views between Republicans and Democrats.

More Read

#Bio2011: After the Party is Over
Boomers – The Fattest Generation
Social Media or Search Engines……The Chicken and/or the Egg?
Good Flavors and Obesity
Making Patient Experience a Priority

This same principle also applies to healthcare. There are many pressing issues in healthcare globally, with some of the major ones being around ensuring people have access to new medicines as health budgets come under pressure, driving more comparable standards of healthcare between developed and developing countries and how to cope with the almost overwhelming trend towards an older, and sadly unhealthier, demographic, driven by rising obesity and all the unwelcome side-effects it brings with it.

Although these challenges are widely recognised, discussion of potential solutions all too often takes part in isolated silos. For example, the view of the patient is well-represented in the many patient forums / communities that are now available, likewise doctors have their own preferred online networks and the pharmaceutical industry constantly addresses these issues at events dominated by its own. As for the policy makers, prescribers and payers – they form working groups and steering committees that do achieve progress, but engage on a far too infrequent basis with the aforementioned parties.

It’s a trend in the world of digital and social media that is often referred to as ‘tribes’, but it’s been around since the dawn of time. While we all have a desire to drive positive change, we also want to huddle together with like-minded folks who will tend to agree with our perspective. It leads to the formation of very strong and sizeable communities and many social media experts will advocate the tribes principle as the best way to grow a following or community, but it does throw up some problems.

It starts to lead people towards what is known as ‘group think’ – the formation of very strong opinions, constantly reinforced by the similar viewpoints held within the tribe, which actually limits the ability for anyone to challenge these views. Just watch the conversation in any online forum when someone throws in a perspective that challenges the status quo and you will often see the equivalent of an online witch-hunt taking place as they are run out of that virtual town.

My point is this – to solve some of these big problems in healthcare, we need to bring these various tribes together, accept they are coming from different perspectives and with different desires, and find the common ground. For sure, this will involve some difficult discussion along the way, but I firmly believe that the problems we now face in healthcare cannot be solved by any one group individually, or even small clusters of them. Everyone needs to be at the table and ready for some tough discussion to make progress.

It’s the reason that I founded pharmaphorum with the motto ‘bringing healthcare together’ – I have no delusions about that ‘together’ bit always being harmonious, but it’s vitally important. We can’t all keep sitting in our individual healthcare tribes taking the occasional swipe at other groups and hoping to achieve anything substantive. We now have many fantastic physician and virtual healthcare communities, spanning every possible stakeholder, but it’s time to get them talking to each other more, even it if is just in closed conversation.

In the same way, while the world’s press will put their own spin on G20, I like to think that behind locked doors, once the media is no longer watching, some fairly frank and productive discussions took place – about Ukraine, about the global economy and about healthcare.

And if the world’s leaders can step away from their national tribes for a few days to tackle the big issues, maybe it’s something we should try on a more regular basis in healthcare? 

TAGGED:G20pharmaphorum
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

travel nurse in north carolina
Balancing Speed and Scope: Choosing the Nursing Degree That Fits Your Goals
Nursing
September 1, 2025
intimacy
How to Keep Intimacy Comfortable as You Age
Relationship and Lifestyle Senior Care
September 1, 2025
engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Involving Pharma in Social Media: Chat 122 Summary

April 10, 2013

Telehealth Tapping into Social Influence

September 20, 2011
top social media hospitals
eHealthHospital AdministrationSocial Media

Your Hospital Social Media Benchmark: How Do You Rank?

November 21, 2014

Busan is in the air: GAVI gets in front

September 6, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?