Cambridge Judge Business School Discussions on Health Management

Pam Garside's new report 'Out of Hospital Care - Lessons from the US' explains why technological advances that have lead to the development of pressure sensitive carpets, talking pill bottles that say when to take medicine and applications for mobile phones will enable patients to be successfully treated at home in the UK.

The recent Darzi report recommends an increase in clinical leadership in the NHS. Whilst Professor Stefan Scholtes believes it is important to have more clinicians on the board, he cautions that this approach needs to be thoughtfully implemented; "haven't we been here before during the first fifty years of the last century when hospitals and organisations were lead by clinicians... we ended up bringing in managers as the clinicians couldn't organise the finances". Professor Scholtes argues that the key is to motivate clinicians to want to become managers, and to then train them up, equipping them with the necessary managerial skills to make economically sensible decisions about the distributions of resources. Their deep-seated professional perspective combined with an over-arching view of the 'system' will lead to innovations in the services and even greater beneficial efficiencies in the future.

The BBC's Claudia Hammond says earning a salary of over £20k doesn't necessarily make you any happier but job losses do matter - so will employment policies really change to incorporate 'well-being'?

How do we measure 'well-being' and what is its importance to individuals and society? What matters to you?

David Halpern, Director of the Behavioural Insights Team at the Cabinet Office, and Professor Andrew Gamble of the University of Cambridge, says subjective well-being measurements are empowering citizens.