What Is the Inverse Care Law and How Does It Work? The inverse care law is the observation that people with the greatest health needs often have the least access to high quality medical care. It works because resources, clinicians, and services concentrate where populations are healthier and wealthier, while need concentrates elsewhere. Julian Tudor Hart coined the term in 1971, arguing that exposure to market forces strengthens the effect and comprehensive public provision weakens it.

Why do those who need care most often get the least? The inverse care law still shapes outcomes today—from GP access to hospital wait times. Have you seen it in action? #HealthInequalities #HealthcareAccess #InverseCareLaw #JulianTudorHart #NHS

Deep End Ireland Policy Document on Drug Services in Ireland — Deep End Ireland It has been shown in the international literature that people living in deprived circumstances have worse health outcomes and endure more complex multimorbidity than the general population. In Ireland...

Deep End Ireland highlighting the devastating gaps in addiction care and lack of dual diagnosis supports in Ireland. Likely same in other countries?
We won't improve population level health without supporting the most vulnerable #InverseCareLaw
www.deepend.ie/blog/deep-en...
@deependgp.bsky.social

Abstract The availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the need for it in the population served. This inverse care law operates more completely where medical care is most exposed to market forces, and less so where such exposure is reduced. The market distribution of medical care is a primitive and historically outdated social form, and any return to it would further exaggerate the maldistribution of medical resources.

And on a day where there is talk of changes to NHS England, it’s important that any future organisation(s) are mindful of this law.

#InverseCareLaw
#MedSky
#NHSEngland
#SocialInequalities

THE INVERSE CARE LAW The availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the need for it in the population served. This inverse care law operates more completely where medical care is most exposed to market...

In case you aren’t familiar with the “Inverse Care Law”, brought to our attention by Julian Tudor Hart in @thelancet.bsky.social in 1971, here’s the original article.

#MedSky
#InverseCareLaw

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

Interestingly, the research from @cancerresearchuk.org also found:

“that patients in England's poorest areas were 33% more likely than those in the least deprived to wait more than 104 days for treatment after an urgent cancer referral”.

So it’s partly a system issue.

#MedSky
#InverseCareLaw

Colleagues #PrimaryCare who are unfamiliar with the Deep End Movement: it started with scholarship by Deep End GP academics in Glasgow
#inversecarelaw
English DE practices have tapped into #NIHR funding to set up research active deep end practices- transforming research participation & inclusion

Lunchtime Live - 04/12/2024 - BBC Sounds News updates from Scotland and beyond, plus all your lunchtime sport, travel and weather.

🙏 BBC Radio 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 for #ScottishBudget chat invite: we discussed % of NHS budget for #GeneralPractice, third sector partnership, #NICs, #InverseCareLaw and the exceptional potential of GP to tackle #HealthInequalities ✊
@deependgp.bsky.social @the-bma.bsky.social
From 43:40…
www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

HRT Prescribing rose by nearly 50% last year Prescribing of hormone replacement therapy (left) in England rose by 47% in the year to 2022-23, with 11 million items prescribed, the NHS Business Services Authority reported. An estimated 29% more patients received HRT, bringing the total number to 2.3 million patients in 2022-23. The agency also found significant geographical differences, as more than twice as many patients were given HRT prescriptions in the least deprived areas as in the most deprived.

A snippet in this week’s British Medical Journal on HRT.

A big rise in prescriptions in England, but a wide variation depending on geography & deprivation status.

#HealthInequalities
#InverseCareLaw
#SDOH
(Social Determinants of Health).

There are no major policies that acknowledge or commit to reversing #inversecarelaw
Stewart Mercer speaking in #Leicester
@uniofleicester @NHSLeicester