“The U.S. healthcare system is in the midst of a transformation—some would say a revolution—that I've waited my whole career to see."
So begins a commentary from Prevention Institute’s Larry Cohen published in this week’s issue of Modern Healthcare, a national magazine covering the healthcare industry that is ranked No. 1 in readership among hospital and healthcare executives.
The column looks at the changes that have occurred in healthcare since the passage of the Affordable Care Act from the perspective of a public health leader and advocate who has been working for 30 years to integrate community-based prevention efforts and a concern for population health into the healthcare system. It notes the importance of getting hospitals and health systems to focus on the community conditions and factors that shape people’s health—and notes that financial incentives and advocacy efforts are beginning to produce such a shift.
“I've worked in public health for 30 years—the past 16 as founder of the Prevention Institute—and I have never seen a time with greater change potential. I'm heartened by the growing interest in population health and a model we call community-centered health homes. In this model, clinics and hospitals recognize that factors outside their walls are the biggest forces shaping health.”
The article was a great opportunity for us as prevention and public health advocates to bring ideas to the health industry and other audiences and to help encourage the transformation of the healthcare system. Feel free to share this article widely.
