As we move forward at the Neuro Vitality Center with
expansion of health services to enwrap other neurological disorders into the
chronic care model that we have found to be effective for Stroke and TBI
survivors, we continue to see the same long term rehabilitation issues
confronting those who suffer similar problems (Multiple Sclerosis and
Parkinson’s Disease) that we have seen for so many years with our Stroke and
TBI patients. At the heart of the problem is a healthcare system that focuses
on episodic care to the detriment of long term or longitudinal care for chronic
conditions – care that takes place over the entire life of the disease or the
disorder as opposed to treating each disease as an episode of care.
In a recent Wonkblog article, “The two most important numbers in American healthcare” by Ezra
Klein, The Washington Post quantified the financial burden the problem
puts on the nation as a whole. From the starting point that 5% of people
account for 50% of healthcare spending, he extrapolates that, since healthcare
accounts for 20% of our economy, 15 million Americans are consuming 1/10th
of our GDP (Gross Domestic Product) – almost $1.5 trillion. The conclusion, he
states is simple – we have to help that 5%. However, not only is that 5% a
difficult population to serve, the assumption made in the United States is that
we need more costly or better medical care to best serve episodic and chronic
conditions instead of social services that are more
prevalent in other developed countries.
A study by Yale School of Public Health, professor Elizabeth
H. Bradley, PhD, looked at health outcomes internationally ( OECD –
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development –countries) only to show the
United States is far behind in social service spending while total health
expenditures exceed most of the 18 other OECD countries. This spending pattern
does not translate to better outcomes in the United States.
We see the benefit of social service therapeutic programs
every day at our community-based Neuro Vitality Center, not only in positive
outcomes but in the saving of dollars spent on expensive clinical services in
expensive clinical settings, and yet we struggle to find the dollars to keep
the Center going. Please take these thoughts to the ballot box – together we
can make change happen.
