Jun 7, 2009
I love genius, especially when it comes in simple packages. One of my favorite quotes from Albert Einstein, a great thinker of our times, is this: “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” The more I read about the US health care system and its woes, the more I am drawn to the conclusion that we must begin with a new premise crafted by a new kind of thinking.
Our present medical model largely took shape in the early 1900s following the publication of the Flexner Report, a study which catalyzed a dramatic reformation of medical education in the US. The medical system as we know it was formed to meet the unqiue necessities of the previous era. While we’ve tweaked and adjusted that system over the years, it is increasingly evident that the old system not only no longer works for our present needs.
The Obama administration announced this week that President Obama himself is going to take a more personal, active role in helping to shape this debate http://tinyurl.com/q7lqzq. In my opinion, the first thing we need to remember is that as Benjamin Franklin put it: “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” A question that I cannot seem to stop asking myself and my peers is this: is what we now know as primary health care really primary?
It seems to me that much of what we now call “primary” care could be more accurately described as “secondary” or “alternative” care. Similarly, much of what is now labeled “preventative” or “alternative” care is really “primary.” Proper diet, sufficient hydration, a good balalnce of exercise and rest are of primary importance. If those fundamentals are not properly instilled in the public mind through education, training and practical use, the only alternative is to take a more aggressive and typically more invasive approach. In the model I envision, prevention is primary.
To be sure, the stronger and healthier the host, the patient, the human being, the better. Today’s lifestyle exacts a painful toll on our physical and mental health. The many shortcuts to health that have become “normal” over the last century may not be strengthening our population, in fact, they may be doing just the opposite! We may be living longer as a whole, but can we live healthier too?
As we begin the public debate on how to reinvent the US health care system I beseech our leadership to consider a new and timely approach to the matter of health care. Otherwise I fear that we risk ending up with more of the same, despite the brilliance of our present leadership in the medical, commercial and political community.
Yes, disease prevention happens automatically as you support health, and you support health by tending to the basic needs of the human body – proper nutrition and exercise, rest and reflection. The information is surely with us on how to succeed, so it is indeed a matter of implementation now – education and training. What a great field to be working in, at such a great time!