From 'sick care' to 'health care'

 The American healthcare system is one of the world’s most expensive, yet health outcomes frequently are no better than other developed nations. Why is this happening? 

The key issue is that we have a medical system that is designed to successfully treat disease, rather than a system invested in maximizing the wellbeing of individuals prior to illness. As chronic diseases are on the rise, we’re seeing the current system fail to accommodate today’s medical climate which increases the burden of illness on individuals and society as a whole. So it begs the question, isn’t it time we shift our mindset and health care system to meet the needs of today’s patients?  

Currently, the health care system is based on a reactive approach to illness. We wait until people are sick before we treat them and focus on symptoms and disease treatment, rather than proactively addressing their overall health and wellbeing. This is referred to as a “sick care” mindset. While this seems like an appropriate way to approach your health, it’s no longer working for today’s climate of managing illness and disease. 

We need to shift our mindset from ‘sick care’ to ‘health care’. A health care system incorporates a proactive and preventative model to health that focuses on preventing issues from occurring again, or even in the first place.