“Racial and ethnic minorities, rural residents, sexual and gender minorities, and those with limited English proficiency often face cultural, economic, and geographical factors that preclude them from obtaining critical health screenings, including Pap and HPV tests,” he said.

Key societal elements of prevention could be targeted with practical solutions, BD’s Dave Hickey pointed out. The economic structure of preventative care must be consistent throughout the entire care continuum–from retail clinics to hospitals to the home and everything in between.”Īdditionally, Senate and House committee leaders can start realigning payment structures and advancing legislation to restructure the economics of health care to focus on prevention and wellness. aptly outlines, “At the end of the day, you can’t have a focus on prevention and wellness if you only pay for curing illness. Preventative care is the whatĭave Hickey, the president of BD Life Sciences, has identified the key trends that are driving the future of health care as: “developing smart, connected care technology enabling new care settings and improving chronic disease outcomes.” Chronic diseases are a great place to start because they are the leading causes of death, illness, and disability in the United States–as well as being responsible for 86% of our nation’s $4.1 trillion annual health care costs.Īs Mike Alkire, the president and CEO of Premier Inc. This is a two-part solution: We must focus on preventative health and embrace moving health care out of the hospital–and more to the home. With advanced technologies in place, once we align payment systems to focus on preventative and home-based care, we can build the powerful healthcare system of the future. It favors services rendered in hospitals by reacting to illness instead of preventing it and creating wellness. Now, after personally interviewing over 100 leading health care CEOs, the problem is becoming clear: The current incentive system is actually backwards. More from Fortune: 5 side hustles where you may earn over $20,000 per year-all while working from home Looking to make extra cash? This CD has a 5.15% APY right now Buying a house? Here's how much to save This is how much money you need to earn annually to comfortably buy a $600,000 homeįor two decades I’ve been on hospital boards, observing the challenges of our national health system.

Just as the Bubonic Plague opened the door to the Renaissance, COVID could usher in a new model of significantly elevated wellness and health economics. If the pandemic has taught us one thing, it’s the importance of health care.

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