Impact Medicine: The Future of Health

On this week’s episode of IMPACT, Meghan discusses the future of our healthcare system and what we can do to improve our present system which is based on a sick care system.   Meghan starts out by talking about getting her first mammogram and how it brought up concerns of depersonalization and lack of dignity for patients and what they’re going through.    Many aspects of our healthcare system have remained antiquated and have become undignified. Even handing a patient a hospital gown can be disenfranchising and disempowering. Meghan envisions a future healthcare system that’s sustainable and can perpetuate and enable humans to become their healthiest selves – to move people toward their health potential rather than just fixing chronic health issues and managing disease.   Our current system is based on maintaining a mediocre level of health rather than educating patients on how to build on their health.  This includes teaching people how to eat, how to exercise, and how to remove allergens from their diet. When we look at the future of healthcare, we must look at giving people a strategy on how to move forward toward optimal health and understanding how their bodies work. It also includes changing the traditional sick care system so healthcare providers don’t suffer from burnout.   Meghan is heading up her fifth year of Impact LIVEs from November 17 – 20, 2022, bringing together practitioners from around the world to discuss concepts at the forefront of healthcare. This year’s theme is understanding the future trends of healthcare and IMPACT medicine, including individualized care, the advent of DNA medicine, integration of technology and the intentional delivery of optimal healthcare.   KEY TAKEAWAYS [4:25] The importance of handing dignity back to the patient [8:53] What’s burdening our healthcare system [12:26] What IMPACT medicine is and how it can change the system [14:47] Some of the future trends in healthcare [23:37] Why innovation is key in future healthcare [25:36] Impact LIVEs event details and speakers   IMPACT Podcast: https://meghanwalker.com/podcast/ Impact LIVEs: Impactlivesevent.com IG: @drmeghanwalker    MEMORABLE QUOTES “We know that in the next 10 years, our population is going to explode. Our incidence of chronic disease is going to increase to a staggering amount, to an amount and with a frequency and intensity that our system cannot handle.” - Meghan Walker   “What would it take for us to actually create a healthcare system built in sustainability that facilitated the ultimate perpetuation of health that enabled humans to visit their doctor and not discuss their cholesterol, but to discuss their ultimate potential?” - Meghan Walker   “It's not about the gown or the white coat or the hierarchy or the title. It's about giving patients a strategy for them to move forward with their health and with their care themselves.” - Meghan Walker   “I'm not just looking at how we deliver better patient outcomes when it comes to building health, but I'm simultaneously talking about how we build better outcomes when it comes to those deploying the care to prevent burnout with physicians and nurses and everyone involved in the traditional sick care system.” - Meghan Walker