Over the past 40 years, there has been a progressive, silent attack waged on the health of the American population.

The problem starts with a dysfunctional health care system that is more about "illness" than "health". Chronic medical conditions in our aging population have forced the cost of health care to skyrocket. But if you think the problem is with the Baby Boomers, think again.The same effect is noted with our youth, who are growing up inactive, overweight and having low self respect. The current system is unsustainable when it consumes 17% of the gross domestic product – and it is only going to magnify over time given the current population dynamics. It is a simple equation:

Generation X + Generation Z = an impending health disaster.

The phrase "patient-centered care" has also become a misnomer. The current system isn't "patient-centered" in any way whatsoever. Why?

The political system promotes special interests long before the health consumer. It promotes reimbursement models that completely divest patient from provider. There is a noted lack of evidence-based practice in both the health care and fitness communities. There is a sense of indignation when those that support the system - the providers - are asked to be accountable to the consumer. The current health care system functions as a separate entity from the fitness community. Most people in the health care and fitness communities are over-served by products and services, marketing schemes and the like. They are either too complicated or too expensive or both. Deming noted that there are three dysfunctions of our culture - fragmentation, over-dependence on competition, and reactiveness - and these are prevalent in our health system.

"Perhaps the sentiments contained in the following pages, are not yet sufficiently fashionable to procure them general favor; a long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right, and raises at first a formidable outcry in defence of custom. But the tumult soon subsides. Time makes more converts than reason." - Thomas Paine, "Common Sense"

But perhaps a far greater problem is the belief systems of the population who have grown to accept the current standards of care and practices. The culture is driven by fear. People have lost faith in their own self-efficacy, have become more passive, and have grown to forget that knowledge truly is power. We, as a community, young and old, have forgotten that changing the system, any system, begins with personal growth and transformation first and foremost.

"Health", in it's most complete sense, involves soundness of body and mind, and freedom from disease or abnormality. True client-centered health is intrinsically education-oriented, growth-oriented, and cost-effective. We have lost sight of this simple credo. It is time for change. It is time to put the "client focus" back into client-centered care. It is time for a Revolution - A Smart Health Revolution.

Tune in on Monday, August 1 for more details.

Photo credits: Wikipedia