Development of medical knowledge and an effective health care organisation

Abstract

Medical knowledge has increased dramatically over the past seventy years. Many diseases can now be successfully treated, and the organization of healthcare has changed accordingly.

Björn Smedby had a great interest in health economics, which considers both medical and economic aspects of healthcare organization. Using gastric ulcer disease as an example, this article illustrates how the development of medical knowledge has shaped the organization of healthcare based on four levels of knowledge.

To achieve high efficiency, organizational structures must take into account the correspondence between levels of knowledge and governing societal factors. Two situations which risk organizational inefficiency are discussed: 1) health conditions with a low level of knowledge governed by monetary values and 2) health conditions with a high level of knowledge governed by outdated professional rules and values.