Illness Care System
Definition: a field of endeavor whose identity, purpose, mission, goals, structure, process, outcomes, habits and culture are centered on the creation, aiding and promotion of illness, independent of the intent.
This extended definition sums up the so-called “health care system” particularly, but not solely in the US.
Bluntly stated, illness profits. Yes, people should be rightfully be remunerated for providing a much-needed service. But human beings were designed to be in health, not kept imprisoned in illness.
“For where a man’s treasure is, there will his heart be also.” Or in more modern phraseology, Follow the money”. Most of our “health care system” dollars derived from insurance premiums are spent on disease.
The closest the illness care system gets to true health care is the provision clinical preventive services (CPS); mammograms, STI (sexually transmitted infections), colonoscopies, etc. Now offering CPS is helpful as well as important, but is not truly the same as preventive care. CPS avoids health behavior modification (HBM). It is next to impossible to do HBM in a 10-minute visit. However, health begins with accurate knowledge, understanding, good application (healthy choices), development of a culture and environment for health.