A Doctor is Reshaping Healthcare by Fighting Back Against how the U.S. Spends its Dollars
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Jennifer Sherlock
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A Philadelphia Doctor is Reshaping Healthcare by Fighting Back Against how the U.S. Spends its Dollars
“We spend $3 Trillion a year on healthcare, but still fall short of other nations in our standard of health … Something is Broken”
PHILADELPHIA, April 14, 2016– A new approach to healthcare is making insurance companies turn heads to listen to one doctor. Andrea LaFountain, PhD, CEO of Mind Field Solutions Corp. has researched human decision-making, and found that how patients think is related to disease outcomes. “As a nation, we have all the resources we need to be healthier, we have just missed the mark in understanding the heart of healthcare – the patient,” says Dr. LaFountain. In her research with the Cleveland Clinic, a large national sample of people with type 2 diabetes was surveyed – the results were astounding. “Based only on how patients think, we were able to distinguish between patients who were able to control their diabetes and those who were not able to control their disease.” This has big ramifications for how we approach patient support – currently we are not providing scientifically grounded programs and this is why we continue to see disappointing results from patient support services provided by health insurers and pharmaceutical companies. This needs to change.
In a refreshingly insightful approach, Dr. LaFountain presents a provocative argument for a new era of healthcare that encompasses a scientific reformation in patient-centric care and population health. Her new book is due for release in May.
Using a unique approach that intersects cognitive science with theory of behavior and mathematical modeling, Dr. LaFountain has been able to construct the Cognitive Architecture of health – an approach that deconstructs patient thinking into the fundamental components that drive patients toward either healthy self-management or maladaptive health behavior. She provides case studies of how this approach has been used in diabetes, oncology, and ADHD and presents new operational models of care illustrating the financial rationale for a reformulation of healthcare delivery. She challenges the conventional use of ad-hoc ‘behavioral’ and ‘predictive’ models, arguing that they cloud the true substantive issues underpinning the complexities of human thinking and she provides step-by-step guidance on how to craft a science-based strategy for patient-centric care and population management.
Dr. LaFountain believes that the continued spend of trillions of dollars in healthcare will not bring about significant improvement in population health without a concerted effort to understand the deeper relationship between cognition and behavior coupled with the necessary adoption of scientific strategies in patient management. She implores every stakeholder within the business and administration of healthcare to take a sober look at the future we are hurtling towards and what we can do, as either business executives or healthcare providers, to reverse this trajectory and create a pathway to improved outcomes at a reasonable cost. The approach outlined in “How Patients Think: A Science-based Strategy for Patient Engagement and Population Health” offers a uniquely valuable solution and charts a path forward to this healthier future.
Release date: April 14, 2016 on Amazon or http://www.HowPatientsThink.org.
For bulk orders, email HowPatientsThink@mind-field-solutions.com.
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About Andrea LaFountain:
Dr. LaFountain is a cognitive scientist and healthcare strategist and a recognized industry leader in patient engagement. She is passionate about the science of behavior and is a sought after speaker on the topic at Grand Rounds CME symposium. She has lectured at The Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins University, The Wharton School, Government agencies, and other academic and executive organizations. She chaired the international adherence conferences for several years.
In her new book, “How Patients Think: A Science-based Strategy for Patient Engagement and Population Health”she diagnoses major gaps in the delivery of healthcare today and provides evidence-based solutions that are critical in creating a shift in population health. She is a strong advocate for a new era of healthcare that encompasses the scientific basis of cognition as a mechanism to progress patient outcomes. Her work has been described as “providing a scientific approach to patient care that is long overdue,” by Harvard Medical School and as “a stunning innovation in healthcare” by The Cleveland Clinic.