How To Predict The Future Of Healthcare: Method #2 – Futures Wheel

Welcome back to our series on “How to Predict the Future of Healthcare.” In our first installment, we discussed forecasting as a fundamental futures method. Today, we’re shifting gears to explore a tool designed to map out the ripple effects of change: the Futures Wheel. If forecasting helps us answer “what” might happen, the Futures Wheel helps us understand “so what?” – the cascading consequences and opportunities that a single event or trend can set in motion.

While Futures Wheel may sound like a fairground attraction, it is perhaps the simplest method to engage people in thinking about the future in a way that generates a useful, ideally, actionable output.

Why would you need a Futures Wheel? 

The method’s strength lies in its flexibility. Look at these diverse examples:

• introduction of 5G technology in healthcare
• mass production of lab-grown organs
• deployment of AI chatbots for mental health support
• the impact of universal basic income on healthcare

While seemingly disparate, each can be the starting point for a Futures Wheel. Whether it’s a technological breakthrough, a policy change, or the discovery of a new health-related technology, any trend, event, or milestone can start the process.

Read on medicalfuturist.com