Around the time Barack Obama became President, I ran a health IT beat for ZDNet.
One point hammered home to me was that 75% of America’s health care bill relates to chronic conditions. These are things like heart disease, diabetes, and complications from smoking or drinking.
The way to cut the bill is through preventive care, I learned. Make sure people see a doctor regularly. Use those visits to monitor their condition, to hector people about their choices, and to get us to take our medicine. Keep us out of the hospital and everyone wins.
Obamacare covered that, for most people, especially those on Medicare. It also covered the cost of computerizing clinics and hospitals. While too many people are still forced to fill out too many forms, there are now electronic records on most of us. Hospitals can find out what patients are supposed to be doing and (through test results) whether we’re doing it.
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