HEALTHY VISION 2020 I INVEST IN PREVENTION SECTION 5 Invest in Prevention
Three old American sayings capture the interconnections among personal responsibility, preventive medicine, and health care costs. Consider “You are what you eat,” and “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” and
“A penny saved is a penny earned.” If we as individuals take better care of ourselves, if we as a society take better care of ourselves, we’ll be not only healthier but also wealthier in the long run. Every Texan needs to have more skin in the health care game … especially those who have too much skin and fat already. We can no longer blow smoke at proven ways to stop people from smoking and exposing others to their secondhand smoke. We need a shot in the arm to stop the spread of deadly, contagious diseases. A healthy and wealthy Texas depends on a sound health care system with robust medical care and effective public health components. There is a legitimate
role for limited government to play in safeguarding a sound, responsive public health infrastructure in Texas.
All in all, a stitch in time does indeed save nine.
Encourage Texans to take personal responsibility for their own health
Texas needs to support our citizens in taking more responsibility for their health and health care decisions.
The key to maintaining health lies in helping patients assume responsibility for their own health with regular support from their physicians. Competent, compassionate medical care, delivered with professionalism, state-of-the-art clinical knowledge, and patient respect are critical components of this responsibility. Conversely, patients have a responsibility to make informed, healthy decisions.
Causes of Death in Texas — 2008
Heart disease 23.5%
All other causes
37.8%
Stroke 5.8%
Chronic lower respiratory disease
5.4% 64 TEXAS MEDICINE November 2012
Accidents 5.8%
Cancer 21.7%
Physicians must continue to emphasize the importance and power of personal responsibility in patients’ health outcomes. Over the past century, public health interventions have effectively reduced and, in some cases, eliminated illness and death. We must use education and preventive medicine measures to go further — to curb the need for the complex treatment required once a preventable condition develops. Each occurrence of preventable chronic disease is costly to Texas’ government and businesses, to our economy, and to our people.
Personal health and wellness depend on the behavioral decisions we make as well as the social and environmental factors to which we are exposed throughout a lifetime. Four out of 10 Texas adults report at least one factor — high
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