Wellness and Healthcare Informatics

The majority of patients seen in the hospital are presenting with chronic illnesses that have developed overtime. Illnesses such as chronic heart failure, diabetes, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to name just a few. Chronic diseases do not appear overnight. In fact, it can sometimes take many years for such illnesses to develop and to show symptoms. Research shows that people value health and research also shows that people intend to take care of themselves; however, there is a breakdown in behavior that is misaligned with their intent. If we had only one car for our entire lives, we would be hypervigilant about taking care of it; yet we aren’t hypervigilant about taking care of our one and only body. Why? The way that people make the multitude of seemingly insignificant decisions every single day negatively impacts our health over our lifetimes. In fact, we make these decisions much like a teenager makes decisions, not taking into consideration long term consequences. Medicine has come a long way and continues to astonish us with new ways to treat diseases as well as to eradicate some altogether; however, the unfortunate fact is that we still have a long way to go in many areas. What can we do in the meantime? We can take charge by stepping up to be the CEO of our own health and

start making decisions above the conscious horizon.