EY Future of Health report: Health systems must make three fundamental shifts now to build a future-ready model of care by 2040
- New EY report sets out a 2040 vision built around three transformations: person-led health, care within reach and integrated outcomes
- Seven connected pillars provide a framework for delivery, spanning medicine, data and digital, workforce, patients, leadership, funding and infrastructure
- New consumer personas show six distinct ways people engage with health information, underlining the need for more personalized support
NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Health systems must move from fragmented, episodic and organization-centered care toward models organized around people, continuous support and outcomes, according to the new EY report, Future-ready Health Systems. The report sets out a vision for health systems in 2040 and a practical framework for decisions leaders need to make today.
The report argues that health systems have reached a critical inflection point. Demand has shifted toward chronic, long-term conditions, while financial constraints, fragmented delivery, legacy infrastructure and existing incentive structures continue to anchor systems in models designed for a different era. At the same time, advances in 21st century medicine, connected data, digital technology and AI are expanding what is possible.
Kim Dalla Torre, EY Global and EY Americas Health Leader, says:
"Healthcare doesn't have an ideas problem. It has a decisions problem. We know what a better system looks like, and today we have the science and technology to make it happen. Yet we are still spending less than five cents in every health dollar on keeping people well and paying for activity rather than outcomes.
"Health leaders need to stop pouring concrete on broken models. Decisions made in the next few years will determine what care looks like in 2040. The leaders who put prevention first, redesign the work and treat people as partners rather than patients will shape that future. Those who wait will have it shaped for them."
Three transformations for health systems
The EY report identifies three shifts required to move from the current model to a future-ready health system:
- Person-led health: moving from episodic, clinician-led treatment to continuous, proactive support that enables people to manage their health and well-being.
- Care within reach: moving from hospital-centered care to a diverse network of providers offering care and always-on support closer to where people live.
- Integrated outcomes: moving from fragmented, activity-driven delivery to sustainable, integrated systems focused on improving outcomes and maximizing value.
Together, these transformations would reshape the full health journey, from prevention and diagnosis to chronic disease management, acute care, recovery and living well. In the report's 2040 vision, care is coordinated around the individual, with seamless transitions between services as needs change over time.
Seven pillars to turn the vision into delivery
The report identifies seven interdependent pillars required to make the future model possible, real and lasting:
- 21st century medicine, expanding what medicine can do through earlier detection, more precise intervention and innovation focused on population impact.
- The data and digital engine, connecting longitudinal data and embedding trusted digital tools and AI into care delivery.
- Workforce reset, redesigning the work itself and organizing capabilities around the activities best performed by people, teams or technology.
- Patients as partners, strengthening health literacy, trust and personalized support so people can participate more actively in their health.
- Bold leadership, creating capacity for transformation while continuing to deliver today's services.
- Funding, incentives and governance, aligning accountability and investment around pathways, populations, outcomes and long-term value.
- Interconnected infrastructure, combining physical, digital and community-based capacity to bring care closer to people.
The report emphasizes that these pillars cannot be implemented in isolation. Scientific advances, technology and new models of care will depend on workforce change, patient trust, leadership, aligned incentives and infrastructure that works across organizational boundaries.
From adding capacity to redesigning the work
A central finding is that the future of health will not be delivered simply by asking the current workforce to do more. Health systems will need to redesign workflows, care pathways and team models, deciding which activities should be automated, delegated or augmented, and which should remain centered on human judgment, communication and complex decision-making.
As care becomes more distributed and technology-enabled, the report anticipates new roles combining clinical, technical and coordination capabilities, alongside expanded roles in prevention, navigation, coaching and self-management support. It also calls for continuous reskilling, clearer accountability and incentives that reward collaboration, learning and outcomes.
Six consumer personas point to different needs and risks
The report also introduces six consumer personas based on how people engage with health information, their level of self-direction and their likelihood of acting on it. The personas show that a single model of engagement will not work for everyone:
- Trusting traditionalists (28%) are guided by health professionals and are generally lower risk but can be vulnerable when access to care is constrained.
- Disengaged drifters (18%) are the highest-risk group because passivity and reliance on default pathways can lead to missed or delayed care.
- Hyper health hackers (16%) are confident and highly active but can over-act on multiple sources of information.
- Struggling searchers (14%) can be held back by hesitation, low confidence and poor experiences of the health system.
- Rational health optimizers (13%) balance digital and professional advice and are among the lowest-risk groups.
- Distracted doers (11%) can make impulsive decisions while relying on less reliable sources and feeling overwhelmed.
The report says health systems should use a more personalized approach, reflecting differences in health literacy, digital confidence, risk appetite, individual circumstances and patient preferences. This includes tailored coaching, navigation, reminders, peer or caregiver support and clear escalation pathways where needed.
Turning a 2040 ambition into decisions today
The report concludes that many building blocks of the future model already exist. The challenge is to connect and scale them. It calls on leaders to manage today's operational pressures while protecting capacity for long-term change, making explicit choices about what to stop, where to invest and how to align organizations behind shared outcomes.
For the full analysis, framework and recommendations, read the complete report.
Notes to editors
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About the report
What decisions will you make today to shape the future of healthcare? Future-ready health systems set out an EY vision for health systems in 2040. It draws on perspectives from health system leaders and industry professionals across multiple markets and on findings from the EY Global Consumer Health Survey 2026. The report describes three transformations across the health journey and seven connected pillars required to support delivery.
Methodology: EY Global Consumer Health Survey 2026
- A total of 7,697 online surveys, lasting 10-15 minutes, with consumers aged 18 and over.
- Seven markets: Australia, Canada, Europe West (Switzerland, Germany and Italy), Republic of Ireland, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Random stratified sampling with quotas on gender, age and market based on census data; all data weighted to match these criteria.
- Sample drawn from an approved sample provider.
- Data weighted equally across the seven markets and weighted to be nationally representative using the latest census data for each market.
Katie Byrne
EY Global Media Relations
+44 (0)7593213466
[email protected]
SOURCE EY
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