I am becoming “health-obsessed.” No. Not (just) my own, but the centrality of health-writ-large to our “survival of civilization” concerns today and in the years ahead. Concerns range from … H5N1; to the acute-care quality catastrophe; to wellness M.I.A. (e.g., the diabetes, obesity plague in developed countries); to man-machine genetic re-engineering; to more-or-less near term, accelerating environmental degradation; to the aftermath of a WMD event. These are, mostly, multiplicative problems. (Also, from a crude business sense, incredible market opportunities—witness Immelt at GE.) Am I late to the party on most of this? Yes, alarmingly and embarrassingly so! Nonetheless, I do believe heartily in “better late than never.” The following, in absurdly shorthand form, is my “starter list.” (It’s also attached, what else from me, as a 2-slide PP.) I’ve titled it “Health: Century 21, Job #1,” or “HC21.J1”:
HC21.J1
Quality
“Evidence/Outcomes-based” medicine
Prevention
Wellness
Med-school re-orientation
“Public health” emphasis
Mind-boggling 15-(20-?) year social-moral-technological impact of life sciences (“the Singularity”?)
H5N1
WMDs
Environmental degradation
Risk assessment (private, public)
Public vs/+ Private responsibilities & partnerships
Africa!