Medical advances : the future shape of acute services

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This working paper argues that the development of acute services should be a managed process, one in which they are positively reshaped and not just one in which development is coped with in isolation. The paper highlights some of the technological developments which have recently taken place, and those which are expected in the next few years. In each case it looks at the implications for the delivery of services. The medical advances described in this paper include: minimally invasive diagnosis and treatment, allowing much more day care and short stay work; increasing complexity of care in some areas, for example in cancer treatment; developments in biotechnology allowing much more near patient testing, and genetic diagnosis and gene therapy. Finally there is a section to pull together these trends to see how they add up.

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