This is my oldest daughter on her first trip to Disneyland. She was around 15 months' old. What you don't see in this picture is the nebulizer and other medicines in the storage under her stroller. You also don't see the scars on all four limbs and in her groin left over from her week-long stay in the Pediatric ICU.
I can't even tell you how much the insurance company had to spend on her total care, but I do remember seeing one bill that was for Nursing Services that was over $40,000. There were so many points where the proper intervention would have made all the difference in this outcome. I am also sure that the proper prevention would not have put my baby's life in danger and would have saved the insurance company lots and lots of money.
There is a current fight in Washington over paying for the extension of lowered student loan rates by getting rid of a preventative health fund provided by the Affordable Care Act
(Student loan bill fails as Senate gears up for protracted battle). There was one female politician -- I wish I could find her name and the quote -- who seemed to dismiss this preventative health fund as unnecessary. I found her stance outrageous.
At the same time, this post is not about ObamaCare, all right?
What this post is about is the importance of preventive care in improving patient outcomes and patient safety. We as a society need to emphasize prevention to optimize the state of our health care.
Of course, not all preventive measures are effective nor cost-efficient as Doctors Cohen, Neumann, and Weinstein point out in the February 2008 New England Journal of Medicine (Does Preventive Care Save Money? Health Economics and the Presidential Candidates). As with all evidence-based practices, we need to evaluate preventive medicine in an on-going fashion to identify what works and what doesn't.
First of all, what a gorgeous baby! Just an absolute doll! Secondly, thank you for reminding us about the importance of prevention, it's a message always worth repeating.
ReplyDeleteYou bringing the student loan bill up is quite apropos because I just completed an assignment in the 659 class about public policy and healthcare. It really generated a renewed interest I have in healthcare politics and it is just so incredibly important that nurses be politically aware and engaged. We must advocate for our profession and our patients.
Great post, it definitely gave me more to think about.
Hi Karen,
ReplyDeleteJust as Elena mentioned, glad to hear a happy ending of your daughter's story. Many have spent way more but still never made it.
You did a good job in using your own life experience to show a really valid point.
Keep it up.
Ugo.
Karen;
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous girl she is, simply gorgeous. And from the looks of that smile, she didn't have a care in the world that day (it's sad how we loose that living for the moment as we age isn't it). I am so glad things turned out well for her.
Prevention. Where do I start. Did you know that in 1986 there was a World Health Organization Summit in Ottawa Canada that ended up with the name "Health care for all by the year 2000". All Western countries represented at that meeting were expected to find ways to meet specific parameters by the year 2000 in regards to the prevention and promotion of health (I will include a link for you). You can find information on this summit under words such as "health care for all by the year 2000, WHO summit, Ottawa health care summit). Anyways - every country, except america, met the goal. Interesting.
However. No where else in the world is health care so expensive, prescriptions unaffordable, and the inability to find physicians who are willing to work with you regardless of ability to pay. America unfortunately has a lot to loose with healthy people : unhealthy people = revenue.
Meagan: http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/