Though no one knows where the health care reform bills are headed, it is of utmost importance that disease prevention and health promotion are at the top of the list. If we aim to “fix” a broken system, we need to ensure that the system is designed to “fix” us as well. This will be achieved by balancing the cost of providing medical care with providing services to help avoid the need for such services in the first place. Some concepts for prevention strategies are (notes from San Francisco Chronicle):
- a yearly personalized prevention plan for Medicare patients
- national assistance to wellness programs at the worksite
- a vast public-private partnership to teach everybody about prevention and health promotion, including Web site tools for self-assessment and personalized prevention
- educating patients how to reduce their risks for chronic disease
- support for community-based prevention and health promotion (i.e. no-smoking rules, seat belt mandates, calorie counts on restaurant menus)
The concern lies in the fact that if these strategies are not implemented, positive and healthy life choices will not occur. By encouraging such lifestyle changes, and providing resources to help people start and maintain healthier living, the return is invaluable – healthy people, fewer chronic conditions, and an enormous reduction in the need for medical intervention.
Tags: Chronic Condition, health insurance, preventative care, wellness
