We have another winning view on health care from Mike Magee, MD and his book Home Centered Health Care: The Populist Transformation of American Health Care.  His chapter, “A Focus on the Home” raises some excellent points on what our health care ”Carousel of Progress” could look like. 

He offers a ten point vision of the new healthy American home:  

1. A Home Health Manager for each extended family member.

2. Health insurance covers nearly everyone, and there is a medical information highway. constructed around the patient, with caregivers integrated into it.

3. The Majority of prevention, behavioral modification, monitoring and treatment of chronic care takes place at home.

4. Physician-led, nurse-directed virtual health networks of home health managers provide 24/7 community-based educational and emotional support.

5. Health care costs go down due to expert performance of the home health manager.

6. Basic diagnostics are performed by the home health manager.

7. Sophisticated behavioral modifications tools, age-adjusted for each generation, are present and utilized.  

8. Physician office capacity grows because most health care does not require an office visit; Physician reimbursements increase in recognition of their roles in managing complex clinical and educational teams and multi-generational complexity.

9. Family nutrition is carefully planned and executed; weight is down and cognition is up.

10. Hospitals continue to right size---they’re more specialized and safe with better outcomes.

Impossible?  Dr. Magee doesn’t think so.  “Many of these elements are well within the reach of an integrated and progressive vision for tomorrow’s health.  What is missing is our willingness to concentrate and focus on homes as the cornerstone of a new preventive health care system” (Magee 40).

This is a great point to start discussing what a new health care system could look like.  We invite you to visit Dr. Magee’s website and blog:  www.healthcommentary.org

Cheers and more later.  Kathleen