TABLE 1

The four main areas identified by patient organisations as issues or trends in healthcare that are most important over the coming years

Key topicSample comments
“Diseases” will change

  • We will be treated holistically as a person

  • We will live longer than ever before with one or more chronic condition

  • Personalised medicine will be able to better define our conditions and target treatments

Patients will embrace new technologies

  • We will be able to monitor, understand and manage our conditions better using new technologies

  • Technology will help diagnose people with my condition quicker and easier

Healthcare systems will change

  • We will be able to talk to doctors online or access medical advice in multiple ways, including social media

  • We will be consumers of healthcare, we may have to pay for it and will expect better service

People will be more aware of what damages the lungs

  • People will be as aware of the dangers of air pollution as they are of tobacco

  • The public will understand the need for good lung health throughout their lifetime and the impact of damage when young