As the healthcare industry evolves and molds to fit the wants and needs of current health care consumers, a common trend being seen is the shift from “sick care” to “well care” or the transition from caring for patients who are already sick to a more focused effort on making sure people are taking better care of themselves so that they get sick less often.
Which is an understandable goal considering it’s estimated that by the year 2020 the United States spent a tremendous 4.5 trillion dollars or 20 percent of their GDP on healthcare with expectations for that number to rise more than 5 percent in the next four years. Simply put, the more time and effort people spend working on preventive care the less time and money they will spend on sick care. And these claims have the data to back them up.
Steve Cassel, Cigna’s vice president of global branding said that by shifting the company’s focus from sick care to well care, they could save on 100,000 lives on average. Transitioning focus on factors like physical, emotional, financial, social, and spiritual wellbeing, lessening the risk of sickness and improving quality of life. And people reacted to the changes.
Since it’s redirection, Cigna has received more than two billion impressions and a dramatic improvement in the company’s overall public appearance. In addition, they saw an 18 percent increase in the number of adult check-ups that were being given to patients, an increase that equates to millions of patients getting preventive check-ups that wouldn’t have otherwise.
And as more companies start to acknowledge this health care trend and implement these preventive services into their health plans, more Americans will see the benefits that these services provide; giving people the freedom to live healthier lives with less stress and out-of-pocket costs. This practice has the ability to improve lives and change industry standards and that is worth cheering about.