The Progressive Center of Texas - Moving from disease care

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FEATURED WRITER:

Jeffrey Kreisberg, Ph.D.
Until his retirement in 2006, Jeff was a Professor of Pathology, Surgery, Urology, and Molecular Medicine for over 25 years at the U. T. Health Science Center at San Antonio. In Dallas he advocates for seniors by volunteering for AARP and as a volunteer Ombuds for the Texas Dept. of Aging and Disability Services.

Without health, you cannot be free or happy.

mortality rates, is among the lowest of industrialized states.

There is a lot of talk about disease prevention being key to lowering healthcare costs and increasing the health of our country. If this is true, why aren’t all the key players participating in these debates? Prevention is more than annual visits to your primary care doctor for a blood pressure check. Poverty has the most deleterious effect on one’s health and the health of society; if poverty isn’t addressed in healthcare reform, our health as a nation will remain weak. So, why aren’t the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, Education, FDA, HHS, and the CDC involved with healthcare reform? We as citizens have the right and society has a duty to provide safe and affordable food, housing, a quality education, clean drinking water, clean air, and affordable healthcare, while continuing to perform the best medical research in the world. It’s in the constitution: ….life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Without health, you cannot be free or happy.

About 90 million Americans are basically illiterate and unable to perform basic reading and numerical tasks for participating in the healthcare environment and acting on healthcare information. This has negative effects on the health of our population with adverse health outcomes. Among the groups tied to poor literacy are those with fewer years of education which occurs most often in the poor. Impoverished neighborhoods have notoriously awful schools that do not provide students with the basics they need to read and write. This is not irreversible as shown in the magnet schools in the Bronx, N. Y.; when good teachers teach in these neighborhoods, there are excellent results.

Numerous studies have evaluated the relationship between literacy and poor choices in regards to health. The largest study (n= 3,019) found a significant relationship between poor literacy and various measures of smoking among adolescent boys and girls. Smoking has the most deleterious effects on our health. It accounts for over 400,000 premature deaths and over $100 billion a year in healthcare costs. Raising literacy would lower smoking rates and significantly improve our health. And, it’s not just the smoking, high poverty and low literacy rates also means less screening for cancers and sexually transmitted diseases.

There is also more obesity in poor neighborhoods. Most of this is related to the paucity of grocery stores that carry fresh fruits and vegetables and the easy accessibility to fast food restaurants. Obesity is another modifiable behavior that results in 400,000 premature deaths and $150 billion a year in healthcare costs.

In order to accomplish such a change in society we not only need shifts in the structure of healthcare, but also shifts in our priorities, spending, and objectives. As a society we value life and a high quality of life, which is not achievable without having a healthy life. The price on that value is compromised when our objectives are to offer treatments for diseases and conditions which are not only unnecessary, but highly profitable.

If we really want to reform healthcare and increase America’s health while reducing healthcare costs, poverty and education must be addressed. We must get together and pull our resources together to make America the healthiest nation. We are all in this together.

Jeff and his wife have a book coming out later this fall, "Taking Control of Your Healthcare".

Jeff also writes on issues affecting health on his blog, takingcontrolofyourhealthcare.com.

Moving From Disease Care

Since the advent of health insurance, more of an emphasis has been placed on treating disease than in promoting health, resulting in a ”disease care” system rather than a healthcare system. Healthcare reform needs to be more about keeping people healthy rather than how to get people healthcare insurance; a healthcare system focused on the person, rather than on the person’s illnesses. If anything meaningful is to be accomplished from healthcare reform, we must address what is covered rather than how healthcare is covered. Our disease care system is the most expensive in the world, yet our health as a nation, as measured by infant

OTHER ARTICLES
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The Industrious Woman.
The Proverbs woman, says Anyaa, is an industrious woman who cares about the bounty of God’s earth and seeks to maintain quality and workmanship with every loop on the loom, which she uses even today.
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Let’s Not Forget About the Elderly.
As health care reform becomes a reality, the care of the frail and elderly must be addressed. The fastest growing segment of the population is comprised of those over the age of 85.
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Youth Power Event.
The Progressive Center hosted Youth Power's first event. Students were invited to ask questions and discuss what was on their minds with a couple of local community leaders.
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What’s a Planet to Do?
Sierra Club leaders talk about
environmental issues affecting our city and state. Elizabeth Walley’s report is full of useful links and information.
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ARCHIVES
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American Workers Need a Fair Chance.

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Maria Arita Looks at One Man’s Mission.

Moving from Disease Care.

Very Few Voters in Local
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What’s the Profile of Poverty in North Texas?

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