A lifestyle resource for today's active adult: Live Smart, Live Well, Live Large

Greg’s Corner September 2007
Wellness: First Things First
By Greg Petty, Operations Manager

In April and May, I wrote articles concerning the state of our current healthcare system. The 2008 presidential election process is in full swing and all Americans would be well advised to keep the sad state of our healthcare system in front of every candidate at every forum. Evaluation of each candidate’s proposals is necessary to address the lack of care and costs issues.

The Iraq war and how to disengage from George W’s foreign policy disaster, will take precedence in the debates as well it should. It is costing the lives of our precious youth every day. I posit that our evaluation of each candidate’s proposals to address the lack of health care and cost issues are every bit as important as the Iraq war exit. The system, as now constructed, is costing American lives and causing pain every day.

The April article presented some of the most distressing facts about our
current inability to provide care for all Americans and the tremendous cost and inefficiency issues we now face (otherwise known as Less Bang for Your Buck). The May article discussed a rational alternative to America’s dysfunctional structure by describing the healthcare system currently used in Switzerland.

I quoted the Commonwealth Fund information from previous studies in the April article. In May, the Fund released new results from a study of advanced nations. The study ranked the U.S. last or next-to-last in five out of six categories compared to five other nations. The study compared health care systems in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United States and the United Kingdom.

The National Systems Were Compared for Six Dimensions:

• Quality
• Access
• Efficiency
• Equity
• Healthy lives
• Health expenditures per capita

Quality – Ranked next-to-last.
U.S. did best with provision and preventative care. Our overall score could have improved with improvements in chronic care management and safe, coordinated patient care. The U.S. particularly lags in integrating information technology in our system to monitor patients and protect against medical mistakes.

Access – Ranked last.
All other countries have universal health insurance coverage. Even those Americans with coverage have delays for doctor appointments, late night and weekend care.

Efficiency – Ranked last.
Largest expenditures for health and administrative costs. Laggard in the use of information technology and multidisciplinary care teams.
Equity – Ranked last. Largest gap in the quality of care determined by your income. To quote the August 12, 2007 New York Times article, “The United States ranks dead last on almost all measures of equity because we have the greatest disparity in the quality of care given to richer and poorer citizens. Americans with below-average incomes are much less likely than their counterparts in other industrialized nations to see a doctor when sick, to fill prescriptions or to get needed tests and follow-up care.”

Healthy Lives – Ranked last.
People in 41 other countries live longer than Americans. Forty countries have lower infant mortality rates. America has one of the highest obesity rates in the world. To quote the Associated Press article in the August 12, 2007 issue of The News & Observer, “Nearly a third of U.S. adults 20 years old and older are obese, while about two-thirds are overweight.”

Health Expenditures – Ranked last.
Expenditures were more than double the top two ranked countries, United Kingdom and Germany.

So why did I entitle this article First Things First? Because America must first reform our system of care which will require the federal government to play a vital role. That will not happen unless Americans demand change. The election in 2008 is the time. Stop spouting the ridiculous argument that requiring health insurance for all citizens is something evil called “socialized” medicine. How is this different than requiring all drivers to have automobile insurance?

Secondly, the health care professionals involved in every aspect of the system must address the serious issues indicated above. The first step is elimination of the largest cost component, the administrative costs due to the absence of a single-payer system. Once billions of dollars are saved for administration, we need to focus on providing integrated care for all using the modern technology. We are the best in the world at inventing and producing.

Lastly, and here is this month’s wellness component – each and every one of us has an obligation to ourselves, our family and our society to take better care of our health. Healthy people are not only happier, they live longer and place much less strain on a healthcare system however it is organized and paid for. I have my personal health challenges with diet and bad habits and I am tackling them head-on… what are your health challenges and have you responded yet? Walk, run, bike, swim, hike, make love, eliminate one bad habit and enjoy a more fulfilling life… start your personal wellness program today!

Sources
The Commonwealth Fund (www.commonwealthfund.org) New York Times, August 12, 2007 Editorial “World’s Best Medical Care?”

Associated Press, The News & Observer, August 12, 2007 “We’re living longer, but 41 countries have us beat”