Health Management In It's Entirety

      It is easy to forget how many different parts and pieces go into community health and health management. As mentioned earlier in my blogs, it is quite common for most people to be unaware of community health and the issues that are faced. As time goes on, I hope that our world becomes more aware of health issues and how these things can affect their health. There are many health plans that have been implemented to improve population health and lower health care costs for the U.S.. I believe that if we can continue to educate people on public health such as the opioid crisis, the effects of sugar sweetened beverage, and the power of good health management, than it can be done. The communities health will improve, costs will go down, and we can take another step closer to this 20/20 health vision. We need to educate and create health management advocates and workers to provide leadership and direction to our health systems that provide our people with health services. Sometimes people just need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. What I mean by it in this situation is, let us step back and not forget the importance of well developed and hardworking leaders and managers. Let us look at new factors in today's day and age that hinder our health such as the enormous consumption of calories through sugar sweetened beverages and unhealthy eating. Let us step back and not be angry but help drug addicts and make a peace offering to improve our community. Let us plan now for our long term care in the future to help with costs and preparedness. Let the medical world adjust to how the current generation, the millennials, do and learn and succeed. Let us learn from our errors in the health care field and become better at what we do. Let's continue to control infections, understand chronic diseases, and and enforce health policy. Many different aspects and health communities contribute to the over health and they all need health management skills so that the 20/20 health vision can be reached.

Opioid and Drug Epidemic Need Health Management Too

     As many people are well aware, the opioid and drug epidemic is increasing at alarming rates. New Hampshire faces many problems with this epidemic as there are many drug abusers in the state. Managing health care isn't always just in a hospital setting. It is important to remember that we need to look elsewhere in the community for good health management tactics as well. These management skills used by CEO's and health care organizations should be seen by doctors, pharmacy's, and public and state health facilities as well. Keeping an eye on positive health initiatives and enforcement throughout the community is not always easy but it is critical. Many people do not support clean needle exchanges and needle safe containers around the community but we need to remember these are the programs getting the dirty needles off of the streets and out from under our feet. We need to offer the help we can give to those who need it. We need to encourage and support doctors to give smaller prescription doses after surgeries and injuries. We need to encourage people to expose of extra pills appropriately rather than sell them on the streets. We need to offer as much help as we can to improve the drug crisis. Many people are sick and are willing to get help if it is there. Manchester turned a local fire station into a safe house for drug addicts to come in and get clean. More addicts retrieved the help offered than Manchester had expected. Superior and quality management skills are needed not only for the good but also for the bad. With determined individuals who show these phenomenal health management skills to the community can be the difference. These are the people who can improve the health of the community and the quality of life for everyone around them. The population will continue to see this opioid epidemic and a drug crisis. This is where health management is needed more than ever.

Minimizing Health Care Costs and Excessive Bills

Over the past years it is apparent that the United States is not effectively spending money on healthcare. We rank 35th for life expectancy, which falls on the lower side, yet the United States spends more money on healthcare than any other country. This should not be the case if the United States is effectively using it's resources and allocating supplies and money where it is needed. 

     One of the biggest problems is that doctors and surgeons may be over paid in the United States and there are far too many extra tests run at each visit. It is a very controversial decision because doctors and surgeons are highly trained and skilled workers who save people's lives. However, if health care costs continue to increase and life expectancy for the U.S. continues to rank at the bottom of the totem pole than more problems are going to arise. As a Type 1 Diabetic, I am in a hospital or doctor’s office more than the typical human being. I tend to see many unnecessary tests performed, whether it be on me or other patients. Now sometimes their is a patient who is very sick and the prognosis is unknown. These situations often require multiple tests which can get very expensive. However, I once went into the hospital because my insulin pump malfunctioned so my blood sugar became very high and I was headed towards ketoacidosis. I had been at the hospital maybe an hour, when the radiologist came into get me to take an x-ray. I did not need this x-ray for any reason but the doctors insisted and said it was part of the work up. This is a prime example of an extra test that costs both the hospital and me money and could have been avoided. Again, high salaries, high costs and excessive testing need to be improved so that we can work towards attainable health care costs for all and improve life expectancy. The system is looking at shifting towards value based care which could be another necessary step in lowering costs and improving the quality of care. This will allow extra costs to be avoided as well as improve the quality of care.

Managing Population Health and Prevention

    Population health is often misunderstood by the general population and therefore I believe it is incredibly important to educate people to the best of our ability. When I started as a Health Management and Policy major, even I could not truly answer what public health and population health was. The definition can vary and the aspects that contribute to population health are constantly changing as well and I believe this is what makes it so difficult to grasp. Over the past few years I have been able to gain a better understanding of population health and how to achieve it on a whole new level. Accountable Care Organization’s, Triple Aim, health payment reforms such as Value Based Care, Community centered health homes, and Health Impact Assessment are all important factors that impact and contribute to successful population health. 

            Primary prevention is also an important factor in the success of population health. Many initiatives have been taken in New Hampshire towards prevention. For example, a program was created by Rudolph Fedrizzi. This innovative program known as Healthy Monadnock 2020 was to become the healthiest community in the nation by 2020. This showed incentive in the community to reach population health by creating this program and advocating for new walking trails, available jobs for the unemployed, and healthy eating habits which would allow health care costs go down in the long run. Rudolph Fedrizzi was an advocate for saving community health and put an emphasis on it. Additional prevention strategies have been taken in Manchester as well. It is prevention strategies like these that need to be advocated for so that we can improve population health and maintain a healthy community. Taking precautionary measures will not only ensure better health for the population but it will lower health care costs as well.