Helen Keller said, “The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.” What an excellent description of patient responsibility in today’s sick care system that needs to migrate to a health care system. Two important factors are lifespan changes and education/prevention of chronic disease.

When U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed into law the Social Security System in 1935, the average life expectancy of American residents was 59 years for men and 63 years for women. When U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Medicare legislation in 1965, it was 66 years for men and 73 years for women. The latest statistics show life expectancy has increased to an average of 75 years for men and 80 years for women. U.S. residents today are now living 17 years longer than when the original supplemental retirement system was put in place more than 75 years ago.

Many health care leaders argue these numbers are deceptive and we are a very unhealthy society. More than 35 percent of today’s Texas school children are overweight or obese, a percentage doubling over the last 20 years. Texas adults are also overweight, contributing to Type 2 Diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke and cancer. The Centers for Disease Control states 21 percent of adults over the age of 18 smoke tobacco, though this percentage is decreasing. A physician recently told me the story of a heart valve surgery he performed on a sick patient who returned for a follow-up visit with a pack of cigarettes in his pocket.

The “sight with vision” we need to focus on for a healthy community includes the following elements:

• Promote nutrition, exercise and healthy habits beginning in kindergarten and throughout our lives
• Enroll in smoking cessation programs
• Use appropriate health care settings when treatment is needed, especially primary care
• Prepare advance questions for discussion with your health care professional
• Ask questions when health care directions are not clear
• Keep a summary of medical history, including current medications, to share with health care professionals
• Fill prescriptions timely and comply with all instructions
• Monitor conditions like blood pressure using diaries or some form of tracking
• Change behavior and prioritize wellness by having recommended screenings and immunizations
• Complete advance directives and medical power of attorney for end of life issues. Update these directives annually

We can change our sick system to a healthy system if we assume the responsibility of focusing on prevention, wellness and seeking required treatment in the appropriate setting. Let’s make a concerted effort to have sight with vision rather than perpetuate chronic disease, which increases the overall cost of health care.