Life, Liberty and Happiness Require Good Health: What Consumers Need to Get There

Independence Day reconnects us with our Founders’ values that “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness” are our fundamental rights. There is a basic concept underlying this dream: While the country will provide the opportunity, its citizens will act to achieve it. But there’s a catch—citizens’ potential to realize the dream depends on good health.

Health has never been as threatened as now. The epidemic of chronic disease, exacerbated by poor nutrition and life choices, is overwhelming a system running out of money. We keep paying more for health care and coverage, and getting less in health outcomes. Even worse, the economic burden has now shifted to consumers, more and more of whom cannot afford to pay.

At the same time, consumers don’t yet have the means to act as informed purchasers of health care. Nor have they the scientific information to make truly healthy lifestyle decisions—medical science has not been clear about the link between human choices in diet, lifestyle and resulting disease.

How can we facilitate the opportunity for consumers to achieve better health?

• We can provide the information and tools for consumers to make choices.
• We can establish a real medical decision-making process that helps patients make those decisions in a way that is consistent with their values.

Here are a set of Roji Health Intelligence resources for the health care industry and consumers to foster thinking about creative ways to forge an opportunity-action link for good health:

Redesigning Health Care For The New Consumer

Shared Decision-Making May Be The Next Consumer Health Movement

 
Founded as ICLOPS in 2002, Roji Health Intelligence guides health care systems, providers and patients on the path to better health through Solutions that help providers improve their value and succeed in Risk. Roji Health Intelligence is a CMS Qualified Clinical Data Registry.

Image Credit: Le Kiet