It’s Time to Lead a 21st Century Renaissance in Care Delivery

To follow in the footsteps of the European Renaissance, healthcare leaders and clinicians need to drive the creation of a revitalized delivery model that works for all patients, not just those with greater means. The Great Plague in 14th century Europe gave birth to the Renaissance, which ushered in a new age of advances in surgery, anatomy, physiology and medical research. Now, it’s up to healthcare leaders and clinicians to ensure the Covid-19 pandemic brings about a similar enlightenment. The obvious place to start is the outdated, patient-unfriendly healthcare delivery system that has marginalized people of color and underserved communities.

To follow in the footsteps of the European Renaissance, healthcare leaders and clinicians need to drive the creation of a revitalized delivery model that works for all patients, not just those with greater means. This would be an enormous step toward correcting the blatant health disparities that made the pandemic disproportionately devastating for Black, Hispanic and Indigenous people. The Covid-19 pandemic could challenge entrenched norms that perpetuate health disparities, including:

- Our facility-centric model that demands patients travel to providers for care.
- The belief that an inpatient level of care can only be delivered in a hospital.
- Failure of our industry to address social determinants of health.