Finding the Future of Health Care: Opening Remarks from Troy Brennan, M.D., M.P.H.

American health care is in crisis. With mounting costs, one thing is clear: we need to find a better way. That’s where The Innovation of Care comes in. We’ve asked 20 innovators one question: "If you could scale up one remarkable health care idea, what would it be?"

CVS Caremark's chief medical officer introduces The Innovation of Care series. Troyen A. Brennan, M.D., M.P.H.

Health care is, to put it mildly, a complex affair. With sweeping changes to the policy landscape, a system that faces increasing costs and pressures, and a population at risk, one thing is clear: we need to find a better way. That’s where The Innovation of Care comes in.

We’ve asked 20 innovators one question: “If you could scale up one remarkable health care idea, what would it be?” From prescription drug abuse and community health to big data and real-time alerts, our expert panel offered a range of ideas as diverse as their backgrounds. But one common thread remained throughout their answers: these are ideas that work — or, if given a chance, could fundamentally change how we approach health care. They’re ideas that offer a new path to better health, a fresh point of view on how we, as health care leaders and concerned citizens, can lower costs, increase quality and improve access.

Not all of our experts agree with one another. That’s partly why we created the series in the first place: it is through productive, open debate, and not operating silently in silos, that we’ll discover the next generation of ideas that can pave the way toward a better health care future. The transcends pharmacy innovation alone: while many of the ideas exist outside of pharmacy care and delivery, America’s health care system today is simply too interconnected not to facilitate a broader conversation about the bigger picture, about how all the parts weave together into a far bigger whole. The goal, ultimately, is not to prize one idea, approach or player over another, but to figure out how it can all work together.

Personally, the idea I’ve chosen is one that, as a former practicing physician, compels and inspires me perhaps more than any other issue: adherence, or, to put it more simply, patients following their doctors’ orders.

But all of the ideas contained in the series matter, and I encourage you to read — and share — each of them. I hope you find The Innovation of Care as illuminating and interesting to engage with as I did, and I look forward to continuing the conversation as we head into this pivotal year, and era, in health care delivery, management and transformation.