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I had the opportunity to sit down with Jane Sarasohn-Kahn to talk about my new book, Health Care Nation - The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think . From defining why the American Health System is going in the wrong direction, to discussing the power of a citizen-driven movement, this review gets at the heart of why I wrote this book. Go here for our discussion. Go here to bookmark this highly-rated blog reporting on transformation issues and opportunities in health and medicine. T.
Friday, March 28th was the official launch date for Health Care Nation-The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think . It is now available through all major booksellers. Amazon named it the #1 (Audible Version) and #2 (Paperback Version) New Release in the Health Care Management Category and the #1 New Release in Health Policy. If you are curious, go here to listen to the Preface and Chapter 1. Special thanks to those who pre-ordered or purchased the book early. T.
I sat down recently with Susan Raff, Chief Political Reporter for WFSB Channel 3 in Hartford, CT, to talk about a wide range of topics covered in my new book Health Care Nation. From food safety to women’s health to creating a citizen-driven movement, we covered a lot of ground in 27 minutes! Go here to watch.
Egberto Willies is a podcast host and commentator who always tries to tease out the "real story" happening behind the scenes of news today. I had the opportunity to sit with Egberto and talk about why America spends more on health care than any other country, and yet, we as citizens are the least healthy in the developed world and most likely to die early. cI covered some of the key issues found in my new book, Health Care Nation. Go here to listen to our wide-ranging conversation on health care and our ability to reimagine a better use of our talented health professionals and resources.
Special thanks to my publisher, Taylor and Francis, for organizing a "soft launch" event in Las Vegas last week for my new book Health Care Nation - The Future is Calling and It's Better Than You Think. While the official launch happens on March 28th with all major booksellers, we had advance copies available for sale. It was great fun to do my first book signings. Already getting good feedback from early readers. A big thank you for those of you who are early buyers and readers. Also, a special shout-out to Kristine Mednansky, Senior Editor at T&F (pictured below) who has now seen me through three books.
Hippocrates wrote the essay “Air, Water and Places” in 400 B.C.E. to shine a light on the connections between our health and the environment. [i] With 2,000 years’ advance notice, you would think we would have done a better job of getting this right. The tragic losses and impact of wildfires that decimated the Palisades and other Los Angeles area communities point to why environmental policies and health policies are intrinsically linked. America must factor environmental policies into its health transformation plan. Let’s use the recent California wildfires to illustrate this point. For Those Directly Impacted: 29 dead (at last count), with many citizens injured with burns, smoke inhalation, and respiratory distress. Beyond the physical injuries are the emotional trauma thousands of Californians are feeling with the sudden loss of their homes and way of life. The Indirect Effects on Californians: Those outside the fire area were impacted by reduced air quality, impacting health conditions for anyone suffering from respiratory illnesses such as COPD. Many metric tons of ash and debris were scattered across southern California. Experts warn that the recent blazes unleashed complex chemical reactions, turning ordinary objects into potentially toxic ash that includes harmful lead, asbestos, or arsenic, as well as newer synthetic materials. Some of these chemicals are linked to cardiovascular disease, reduced lung function, cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. The Indirect Effects on the Rest of America and the World: Smoke and air pollution from these fires will surpass the health impact of previous wildfires, potentially health status across America and the world. Wildfires in California have quintupled since the 1970s. [ii] In 2020, as much as 70% of California was covered by wildfire smoke. [iii] Smoke from the California wildfires in September 2020 traveled nearly 5,000 miles through the atmosphere to reach northern Europe in a matter of days. [iv] As clean-up and recovery efforts get underway, scientists worry about where all the waste will go. Some potentially hazardous materials could end up in drinking water . [v] 2023 was the hottest year on record as was the summer of 2024. [vi] [vii] These conditions will likely continue and require America to integrate its approach to creating and maintaining a safe and healthy environment with efforts to create a health system that produces measurable benefits for its citizens. Such an approach will not only improve quality of life but also reduce healthcare costs by preventing illnesses and injuries before they occur. [i] Institute of Medicine (US) Committee on Assuring the Health of the Public in the 21st Century. The Future of the Public's Health in the 21st Century. Washington (DC): National Academies Press (US); 2002. 2, Understanding Population Health and Its Determinants. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK221225/ [ii] Smoke Covered 70% of California During Biggest Wildfire Years | UC Davis [iii] Ibid [iv] Smoke from US wildfires reaches Europe, satellite images show, The Independent, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/us-wildfires-smoke-europe-satellite-california-oregon-b455594.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com [v] Contaminated drinking water is a growing concern for cities facing wildfires | AP News [vii] Summer 2024 hottest ever recorded, EU climate change monitor says, 24 France, June 9, 2024, https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240906-summer-2024-hottest-ever-recorded-on-the-planet-eu-climate-change-monitor-says
This week President Donald Trump made waves in the global health community by issuing an Executive Order to pull America out of the World Health Organization (WHO). Founded in 1948, WHO is an agency of the United Nations whose charter is to plan and coordinate the international response to health emergencies as well as help countries monitor, prepare, and recover from disease threats. While not without controversy, WHO is the most recognized global forum for predicting and planning for events affecting the health of humans across the planet. Media coverage of the US withdrawal has focused on political rancor (Trump believes WHO mishandled the pandemic) and funding (While the US is one of 194 participating countries, it funds almost 20% of the agency’s $6.8 billion budget). [i] As the new Administration gives up America’s seat at the table for global health planning, it's important to shine a light on very real issues impacting the health and well-being of Americans. They are worth public scrutiny and debate starting with this statement: America is a First-World Nation Battling its Own Third-World Health Crises America’s health care system is the most expensive in the world. It’s staffed with some of the world’s best health and medical talent. Despite this, we are at the bottom of the list in overall health compared to all developed nations. This includes access to care, administrative efficiency, equity, and health care outcomes. [ii] Americans are among the least healthy people in the rich world and among the most likely to die early. The richest men in America live longer than the average man in any country. The poorest have life expectancies comparable to men in Sudan and Pakistan. [i] If you are a citizen of Mississippi, you probably won’t live as long as someone from Bangladesh. [ii] [iii] [iv] Maternal mortality rates for American women are worse than in most third-world countries. Even more unexplainable is that Black women are three times more likely to die of childbirth than White women. This gap is worse today than it was when we began keeping records in the early 1900’s. [i] America is a global leader in avoidable amputations. This is mainly due to the improper management of diabetes, which impacts 38.4 million Americans. [ii] 30 million Americans die prematurely each year from preventable diseases. Twenty-seven percent of US health-care spending goes to managing health conditions that are preventable. [iii] As the World Health Organization focuses on increasing its investments in global Public Health, it’s important to note that America’s investment in similar Public Health services is declining. Winston Churchill once said, “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.” And so, as we discuss and debate America’s role in creating a healthier world through organizations like WHO, let us actively debate and decide what priorities we will invest in to improve the health of the 330 million people who call America home. [i] Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Healthier Mothers and Babies, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Achievements in Public Health, 1900-1999: Healthier Mothers and Babies (cdc.gov) [ii] NICHOLAS KRISTOF, How Do We Fix the Scandal That Is American Health Care? New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/opinion/health-care-life-expectancy-poverty.html?smid=em-share [iii] Sandro Galea, Nason Maani, The Cost of Preventable Disease in the US, The Lancet, October, 2020, https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(20)30204-8/fulltext [i] Raj Chetty, Michael Stepner, Sarah Abraham, Shelby Lin, Benjamin Scuderi, Nicholas Turner, Augustin Bergeron, and David Cutler, Income and Life Expectancy in the United States: Executive Summary, The Health Inequality Project, April 2016, https://www.healthinequality.org/documents/paper/healthineq_summary.pdf [ii] NICHOLAS KRISTOF, How Do We Fix the Scandal That Is American Health Care? New York Times, https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/16/opinion/health-care-life-expectancy-poverty.html?smid=em-share [iii] Life Expectancy at Birth by State, National Center for Health Statistics, https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/sosmap/life_expectancy/life_expectancy.htm (cdc.gov) [iv] Life Expectancy at Birth – Bangladesh, World Bank Group https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN?locations=BD [i] https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/what-is-the-world-health-organization-and-why-does-trump-want-to-leave-it/ar-AA1xFf0l?ocid=BingNewsSerp [ii] Mirror, Mirror 2024: A Portrait of the Failing U.S. Health System, Commonwealth Fund, September, 2023, https://www.commonwealthfund.org/publications/fund-reports/2024/sep/mirror-mirror-2024