An African trailblazer

Hidalgo Medical Services is a nonprofit public health clinic that has set out to develop a model for delivering quality, affordable health care to rural communities through a comprehensive approach that addresses multiple patient needs at once.

Project ECHO - driven by a single doctor with a cause - pulled together a team of specialists to develop a model that combines technology with collaborative care and careful patient tracking to help cure for diseases spread to patients around the world through community healthcare agents, as opposed to only specialty centers. This kind of "disruptive innovation" is effectively working to demonopolize health care knowledge and access, and lends to a health system capable of meeting today’s soaring demands for care.

Community health workers are a key part of Connecticut's public health response to COVID-19, particularly in marginalized communities. CHWs connect people to health care and other services, like rental assistance, help with contact tracing, and effectively increased vaccinations by taking the time to answer questions and dispel misinformation. Living in the communities they serve is a critical part of the model’s success and helps clients trust them more readily. The state now offers a CHW certification program, but the largely grant-funded model would be more sustainable with steady funding.

Australia's health care system combines public and private health insurance to create a hybrid model that caters to every citizen. Although there is some uncertainty surrounding the future of the private health care program due to the younger generation's tendency to choose the public option, overall, "the outcomes for both systems have been quite good," especially when compared to America's system.

Maryland's health care system is based on three pillars – all-payer rate setting, a global budget, and total cost of care – that, together, have shown positive results both for the patients and for the state's hospitals. Although evidence of success with regard to health care costs is limited, the model of incentiving investment in community health and preventive care has shown success in reducing readmission rates for hospitals across the state.

Australia's hybrid system of both private and public health care offers, literally, something for everyone in the country. Although there are questions about the longevity of the private sector of insurance as it pertains to the future, and the universal public health system leaves something to be desired especially as it pertains to equitably cover everyone, "in the aggregate, the system works very well."

Enrolling local agents allows global partners to connect underserved and remote communities to healthcare. A partnership between Rwanda’s Health Ministry and the Boston-based nonprofit, Partners in Health, trains community-based health workers to communicate and connect people on the ground to health services across the country. Rwanda has also implemented reforms and services such as government-subsided healthcare, which has helped improve the life expectancy of its citizens.

Though it claims as many as 300,000 lives every year, meningitis is not widely regarded as a major health problem by many health organizations in comparison to more familiar diseases like tuberculosis. One family-run company in Oklahoma is working to tackle the disease by developing simpler tools like the Cryptococcal Antigen Lateral Flow Assay, or CrAg LFA, to diagnose fungal infections. Faster and more accurate than previous methods, and significantly less expensive, the test allows for earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Health insurance sign-ups made available to all inmates at the San Francisco county jail, partnered with guidance from a clinic once they are on the outside, allows them to receive better care upon release, and may help prevent a return to crime and substance abuse.

Physical illnesses trigger and exacerbate poverty because costs are too high to treat them. The Associação Saúde Criança in Rio de Janeiro counsels helps by assisting families with services such as food, medicine, vocational training, housing, and legal aid, which helps mothers achieve their personal goals.