What does a better health outcome actually look like?
Dr Tony MacDermott explores the shift from activity-based healthcare to value-based care, discussing why prevention, patient experience and long-term wellbeing should be at the heart of healthcare design. He shares insights into the challenges facing Australia's healthcare system and the opportunities to improve outcomes through innovation and smarter models of care.
Overview
Australia's healthcare system delivers some of the best clinical care in the world, yet growing demand, an ageing population and increasing rates of chronic disease are placing unprecedented pressure on the system. The challenge is no longer simply how we treat illness, but whether our healthcare system is equipped to keep people healthy in the first place.
In Episode 2 of The Care Blueprint, Dr Tony MacDermott, Clinical Director of Bupa Health Services, explores what "better health outcomes" really mean and why the future of healthcare may depend on shifting our focus from activity to outcomes, and from cure to prevention.
When healthcare outcomes are discussed, the focus is often on traditional measures like survival rates, pain reduction or clinical success. While these measures remain important, they don't always capture what matters most to patients.
For many people, health is about more than clinical indicators. It's about independence, quality of life, mental wellbeing and the ability to participate fully in everyday life. It is also about how people experience care and whether healthcare services help them achieve outcomes that matter to them personally.
This shift in thinking is at the heart of value-based healthcare, an approach that focuses not simply on how much healthcare is delivered, but on the value it creates for patients.
Historically, much of healthcare funding has been linked to activity. More services, more procedures and more interventions often translate directly into funding. While activity will always have a place in healthcare, there is growing recognition that the system should also reward outcomes, ensuring that investments generate meaningful improvements for individuals and communities.
One of the strongest themes emerging from the conversation is the need for greater investment in prevention. Prevention is widely recognised as one of the most effective ways to improve health outcomes, yet healthcare systems around the world continue to spend significantly more on treating illness than preventing it.
The challenge is that prevention often requires long-term thinking. The benefits may not be visible for years, while healthcare funding models tend to reward outcomes that can be measured more immediately.
Shifting healthcare upstream requires rethinking how resources are allocated and how success is measured. Greater investment in primary care, preventative programs and innovative care models could help reduce pressure on hospitals while improving health outcomes across the population.
The episode also explores the unique opportunity available to organisations that operate across both healthcare delivery and health insurance. By aligning funding with improved health outcomes, new opportunities emerge to invest in prevention, innovation and models of care that may not traditionally be supported.
For Tony, this alignment between purpose and impact is one of the key reasons he chose to work at Bupa.
As the conversation turns to the future, the scale of the challenge becomes clear. Demand for healthcare services continues to grow, workforce pressures are increasing and access gaps are becoming more visible across the system.
Yet despite these challenges, there is also significant opportunity.
Healthcare innovation, digital capability, preventative care and outcome-focused funding models all have the potential to create a more sustainable system that delivers better experiences and better results for the people who rely on it.
The future of healthcare will require bold thinking, collaboration and a willingness to challenge traditional models of care. By focusing on prevention, outcomes and patient-centred experiences, there is an opportunity to create a healthier future for all Australians.
For anyone interested in healthcare reform, value-based care and what comes next for the Australian healthcare system, Episode 2 offers a thoughtful and practical exploration of the challenges and opportunities ahead.