Intelligent discussions on solutions for healthcare

The discussions on the U.S. healthcare issues, like those that are going on around the worlds climate/energy issues, are entering the mainstream and at an increasing velocity. These are fantastic discussions. I want to say they are 'better', but I think the discussions and the people having them have been around on for a while. It is just the rest of us catching up [I hope] with their topics.

I just read this posting 'Health Care vs. Risk Snare' by Doc Searls, and the referenced posts. Very interesting topics are risk and data flow/ownership. The removal of the non-health related risk mitigation factors and inverting the health aspect from the current 'I visit the doctor after I have a problem' to prevent oriented system [and attitude by the customer] are keys. Searls VRM [Vendor Relationship Management] is the superset of this second item, basic consumer empowerment and control. Inverting it from the vendor control model we allow ourselves in now for so many aspects of our lives still.

The discussion, TWiL 26: To Your Online Health, on this Week in Law, is a great expansion of the discussions above. Very good panel, Searls, Bob Coffield, Susannah Fox. The links cited are an excellent starting point to 'catch up' and engage in this critical topic: Fixing The Healthcare System!

There are a large number of topics touched on in the hour discussion, some of them highlight [to me] the hang ups we have and why these are keeping progress from occurring. I think the two core issues are cited in Searls post, but as with the energy issue the problems has many many variables to consider [and address so to let the 'train' move the packages forward].

Important topic for 2009, lets hope we make progress!