Prevention, Prevention, Prevention

This was a particularly difficult week for me. It seems that every patient that was seen in the office was focused on sick care and chronic disease.
I often get this statement from my patients, "If I wasn't sick, I wouldn't need to be here (i.e. doctor's office)". My other favorite, "Just fix me up, doc. I got things to do. I don't have time to be sick."
As you may already know, one of my 8-points for healthcare change is to move from a sick care system to a well care system. So lately, I have been contemplating how to get my point across to patients about preventive health and wellness. I know, as do others in the healthcare professions, that Americans do not follow advice very well about disease prevention and being well. Therefore, you have to become a Madison Avenue marketing executive and design slogans to get your patients attention.
My little wellness ditty goes like this:

Eat a healthy diet,

Move your body,

Rest your body,

Find your inner spirit,

No smoking or tobacco use,

Alcoholic beverages in moderation,

No illicit drug use,

Age-related cancer screening,

Look for the positive each day,

Take control of your health today,

Protect the environment.

Now I know it's not fancy with big words and catchful phraseology. It will probably not replace Dr. Oz's messages on Oprah. But, the message about being healthy and well must be simple. The KISS principle, Keep It Simple Stupid, works well for me. My issue is we are not coaching our patients into being healthy and well. The statistics support my opinion. We are a sick society and getting sicker in mind, body and spirit. I hope this week creates opportunities for Jim and I to work on disease prevention and health promotion. Every opportunity with a patient is an opportunity to get the wellness message out there.
Dr. Dale