How we can help healthcare regain its soul

It was my honor to give a presentation titled "The US Healthcare System: Can We Do Better?" this month at The Bur Oak Foundation, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit educational foundation dedicated to serving the academic community of the University of Michigan. I thank my hosts for the opportunity to present on a topic that means so much to me personally, the fact that healthcare today has lost its soul - its sense of humanity. The nature of healthcare has become transactional and impersonal. As a result, the current state of U.S. healthcare is dire. Costs are astronomical and patient outcome and satisfaction are low. Healthcare has become transactional by emphasizing coding, procedures and tests over relationships and conversations. To fix healthcare, we need to start with simplicity, incentives and culture. We can do that by prioritizing primary care, reforming end-of-life care and limiting insurance interference with clinical decision making while making long-term investments in nutrition and education. To watch the presentation, scroll to the bottom of this page or access it directly here on YouTube.