E-Paper
Shared accountability is the new metric for health care
This article is authored by Anjali Ajaikumar, founder, Lumos Health.
An average patient’s treatment journey today does not stop after visiting one specialist. Where once visiting one particular specialist was considered enough to detect the path towards further treatment, the rise in complexities today make patients rely on multiple disciplines. The increase in the burden of chronic diseases requires treatment mechanisms that are more coordinated. This highlights the need for continuous screening, routine checkups and lifestyle changes involving the intervention of different health care professionals.
The collaboration between experts is thus slowly moving away from focusing only on referrals. Health care is now embracing an integrated model where doctors, nurses, nutritionists, physiotherapists, laboratory professionals and other allied health care professionals work together on a shared treatment plan. An environment where health care providers exchange their insights regularly benefits patients not only in the form of comprehensive care but also that which is consistent and coordinated based on their evolving needs.
Health care is becoming increasingly personalised. In many cases, quality care may involve looking at a patient's genomics to understand whether a particular treatment or drug is likely to be effective. Treatment decisions are now being tailored to the individual at a much deeper level, while also considering a multifactorial approach that takes into account the patient's overall clinical, genetic, nutritional, and lifestyle profile.
The advances in diagnostics, genomics, digitally managed systems and minimally invasive procedures have enhanced the scope of clinical practice. At the same time, the rapid rise in specialisation reinforces that no single expert can solely address every aspect of a patient’s health. This stands particularly relevant in fields like fertility, where a fertility specialist, embryologist, nutritionist, counsellor and nurse can each bring a unique perspective that influences the treatment.
Health care decisions in one area may often come with several implications. This can range from a medication affecting other clinical symptoms, to even a particular diagnosis that changes the entire course of treatment. A medical outcome may not be determined by a single factor, but a culmination of several biological, behavioural and environmental factors. In this case, fragmented treatment mechanisms may not only lead to disconnected decisions, but also significantly affect the continuity and quality of treatment.
Today, health care treatments are valued based on trust, transparency and overall experience as much as the clinical results delivered. As patients are increasingly informed and actively involved in their treatment journeys, there is a growing need for care that is well coordinated and personalized. Bridging communication gaps between the healthcare providers that one visits, or repeating medical history is no longer an inevitable part in the treatment journey. Studies suggest that 83% Indian patients actively seek objective and accessible information before making medical decisions and 9 in 10 Indians are willing to pay more for certified quality care. This signals that health care today is shifting to be evaluated constantly through continuity and consistency of the system.
The evolution of medicine calls for collective knowledge rather than individual expertise and specialisation. The question no longer rests upon whether collaboration is important but upon how systems, leadership and culture make it a routine part of clinical practice. The way forward to meeting growing clinical complexity and changing patient expectations lies in integrating expertise into a seamless model, as fragmented care may now correlate to limitations of the system than of individual providers.
Quality health care is a collective effort. While patients today have access to information through Google, ChatGPT, and many other AI-powered tools, these cannot replace the value of a holistic, multidisciplinary clinical approach. Technology can support awareness and education, but determining the right treatment plan requires the collective expertise of experienced clinicians working together. Creating an environment with shared accountability, continuous learning and coordinated decision making is the route to deliver treatments that are adaptable, resilient and responsive. Integration is now a substantial marker of quality--where excellence comes not only through how medical knowledge is discovered but how effectively it is shared and translated into better patient care.
(The views expressed are personal)
This article is authored by Anjali Ajaikumar, founder, Lumos Health.
