There are major changes happening in the United States healthcare system. Some have rightly described the way we currently provide healthcare services as “sickness care.” But these changes will require traditional healthcare providers to rethink the “sickness” approach. I believe the way to do that is to conceptualize health as a platform. Read about it here.
Recognizing health as a platform transitions healthcare to a new paradigm: creating health; it flips the approach from reactive to proactive. Healthcare doesn’t have to be just about fixing what ails you, it can also help you improve what isn’t.
Helping patients feel better means the traditional healthcare organization expands its focus beyond treating illness. It finds opportunities to help patients before illness occurs and supports patients after an intervention has occurred. Recognizing health as a platform does not diminish the importance of modern medicine. It’s about incorporating the totality of health-creating elements into service offerings. The recognition provides the proper context for a healthcare organization to expand and design health-creating services for everyone.
The decision to be healthy is one that must be made by patients. But judging by the most popular New Year’s resolutions, it is a decision that many struggle to realize. Here lies the opportunity: people need help finding a deeper connection to their health. The reorganization of the healthcare business model provides a unique opportunity for healthcare organizations to lead an effort to aid patients in healthy decision-making and redefine how we conceptualize health. It’s obvious that people need to be healthier and healthcare has the ability to lead the effort.
Hi, I'm Drew Weilage. 