Chronic diseases are pushing healthcare systems to the edge. Over 2 billion people live with chronic conditions today, and projections estimate cumulative global economic losses of up to US$47 trillion between 2011 and 2030. Moreover, many patients receive diagnoses too late, and millions more cannot access the medicines or care they urgently need. Without structural reform, these problems will worsen as populations age and health inequalities continue to widen.
The Growing Burden of Chronic Disease
Why Current Systems Are Failing
Healthcare systems worldwide rely too heavily on reactive, hospital-based care. This model treats illness after it strikes rather than preventing it from developing. Consequently, costs spiral, hospital beds fill, and patients suffer outcomes that earlier intervention could have avoided. Populations in both developed and developing nations face this crisis equally. The system, as it stands, is not built to cope with the scale of chronic disease in the 21st century.
The Gap in Guideline-Directed Care
Evidence Exists — Access Does Not
Strong clinical evidence already guides how chronic diseases should be managed. Global and national guidelines recommend medicines that prevent disease progression and reduce hospitalisation risk. Large-scale randomised trials and real-world data back these recommendations firmly. Yet, despite this wealth of evidence, guideline-directed medical therapy remains out of reach for most patients in most countries.
This gap is not a knowledge problem. It is a delivery problem. Governments, healthcare systems, clinicians, patients, and industry must therefore work together to close it — identifying at-risk patients early and supporting the widespread adoption of evidence-based care.
Why Integrated Healthcare Models Work
Prevention Beats Reaction
A more integrated model — one that places early, community-based, preventative treatment at its centre — has the potential to transform outcomes for patients and health systems alike. However, movement toward this model is not happening fast enough.
AstraZeneca, with deep expertise in cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, and cancer, has directly witnessed how effective public-private partnerships can drive earlier diagnosis and accelerate the implementation of evidence-based guidelines in community settings. Alignment with guidelines from medical associations and quality standards forms the critical foundation of every such effort.
Partnerships Delivering Real Results
Early Screening Across 50 Countries
AstraZeneca currently supports early proactive screening and diagnosis in more than 50 countries. Simple, affordable solutions and electronic medical record tools help communities diagnose and treat millions who would otherwise go without care.
AI-Powered Heart Failure Diagnosis in Scotland
In Scotland, AstraZeneca collaborated with the NHS, the University of Glasgow, and other partners to digitise heart failure diagnostics at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde. An AI-enabled handheld echocardiogram now triages the highest-risk patients. As a result, waiting times for a confirmatory diagnosis dropped from one year to just six weeks — allowing nine times as many patients to be screened annually. Additionally, the pathway reduced its carbon footprint by approximately 8 kg of CO₂ per patient per year.
Virtual MDT Reviews Improve Kidney Disease Care
In the United Kingdom, virtual multidisciplinary team-led review meetings improved evidence-based care for patients living with chronic kidney disease. Of thousands of consultations completed, more than 50% led to medicines optimisation. This delivered nearly £3 in benefits for every £1 invested, while model-based analyses suggest a meaningful reduction in progression to dialysis — a therapy associated with significant patient suffering and economic cost.
COPD Management Cuts Hospital Visits in Canada
In Ontario, Canada, AstraZeneca provided grants for the ‘Best Care’ programme — an integrated, proactive approach to managing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, particularly in lower socioeconomic communities. Established across more than 300 primary care clinics, the programme achieved a 43–51% reduction in COPD-related hospitalisations and a 28–36% reduction in emergency department visits within just 12 months. Furthermore, the programme has since expanded to include lung cancer screening and asthma care, demonstrating the broad applicability of the integrated care model.
Scaling Collaboration for Global Impact
200 New Partnerships in a Single Year
In 2024 alone, AstraZeneca established more than 200 new partnerships with healthcare systems across more than 50 countries. These partnerships potentially benefit up to 20 million people and help many more patients access guideline-directed care.
The PHSSR Programme: A Blueprint for Change
Nevertheless, partnership at a far larger scale is still needed. One example of this ambition is the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience (PHSSR) — a non-profit collaboration bringing together academic, non-governmental, life sciences, healthcare, and business organisations. The PHSSR programme uses evidence-backed policy recommendations to build more sustainable and resilient health systems globally. Its founding members include AstraZeneca, the London School of Economics, and the World Economic Forum. Already, it has influenced healthcare delivery across multiple chronic diseases in more than 20 countries.
Public and private stakeholders are often assumed to have conflicting agendas. In practice, however, AstraZeneca has repeatedly observed the opposite. The most impactful change programmes emerge from a truly shared vision — one where clinical advocates and healthcare decision-makers drive strategy, and industry amplifies impact through global reach, deep disease expertise, and the ability to scale rapidly.
A New Direction for Healthcare Delivery
From Reactive to Proactive
At World Expo 2025 in Osaka, AstraZeneca hosted events focused on the growing burden of chronic diseases and the need for healthier ageing in Japan. The Japanese Respiratory Society, local policymakers, and AstraZeneca signed a joint declaration underscoring the need for sustainable, innovative COPD care partnerships.
This moment reflects a broader call to action. Now is the time for stakeholders around the world to unite and fundamentally rewire how healthcare reaches people. Systems must move away from fragmented, reactive approaches. Instead, they must deliver proactive, integrated care — where patients receive early diagnoses, evidence-based guidelines are widely followed, care transitions are seamless, and access to research and innovation is equitable for all.
Sharing Best Practices Across Borders
A critical opportunity exists to transfer best practices from disease to disease and system to system. This approach will help identify, diagnose, and treat millions more people, improve health outcomes, build system resilience, and enable longer, healthier lives for populations across the globe.
