Shouldn’t Health be Primary

America’s Family Physicians are promoting Health is Primary, a [now defunct] communications campaign that reflects the values of family medicine, puts patients at the center of their care, and aims to improve the health of all Americans, as well as costs. The Washington Post last week carried their sponsored article about A Health Care Solution We Can’t Afford to Ignore: PRIMARY CARE.

These physicians are apparently frustrated by Congress and partisan politics that is so toxic to our healthcare system, and our health. The United States is known to spend twice as much per capita as other advanced nations on healthcare, but with worse outcomes, so I’m happy to see this organization expand the debate beyond just how to PAY for care and who bears the burden. I’m glad to see their goal of actually improving wellness and care delivery, because even Benjamin Franklin knew that “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and that was two centuries ago.

Given that the Medical Industrial Complex (hospitals, insurers, drug companies, equipment providers, and testing companies) spends 3-times more on political lobbying as the military industrial complex, this is refreshing.

Primary Care: What is it, and how can we make it Better?

I always enjoy the whiteboard talks by Dr. Mike Evans, an Associate Professor of Family Medicine and a staff physician at St. Michael’s Hospital. The fact that he’s Canadian explains why he so often brings a refreshingly new perspective, including this short talk on Primary Care.

Follow Us to Where Health is Primary

Health is Primary, is “a collaboration between the nation’s eight leading family medicine organizations to drive continued improvement of the U.S. health care system and show the value of true primary care.”

Shouldn’t Health be Primary?

While Senator Bernie Sanders has been promoting plans that lead toward Universal Healthcare and the single-payer concept, President Trump and the Republican Congress keep trying to repeal Obamacare (the Affordable Care Act), even though that would leave tens of millions of Americans without health insurance and cause hundreds of thousands to die as a result.

That “repeal and replace” example shows just how toxic partisan politics are to our health, especially when proposed laws are crafted in secret, behind closed doors, and with no public hearings to gain the perspectives of the many stakeholders, including patients and their general practitioners.

Here at Modern Health Talk, I write often about healthcare policy and the economic benefits of making health primary, to extend longevity, save well over $1 trillion/year by cutting costs to match other advanced nations. Doing that would also improve the health and productivity of our workforce, and that could have just as much economic value, but it’s not even being discussed.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?