I’m Doug Hawthorne, CEO of Texas Health Resources, with “The Business of Health Care Report.”
The 2008 presidential election is right around the corner, and health care remains front-and-center on the candidates’ agendas.
A November 2007 survey for the American Hospital Association questioned voters in the early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. It revealed that health care is the top issue on voters’ minds, above even the Iraq war.
Nearly nine out of 10 voters polled favored a set of changes to our health care system that would include the following:
Providing health care coverage for everyone, with government, individuals, and employers contributing to the cost.
Using more information technology to increase patient safety, lower costs, and reduce paperwork so that doctors and nurses can spend more time with patients.
Making changes to make health care more efficient and more affordable.
Ensuring that people have access to preventive care and wellness programs to promote healthier lives.
Improving the quality of care so that every patient receives the right care at the right time.
This spring, Texas Health Resources will collaborate with business and advocacy organizations to hold a community forum to stimulate conversations among North Texas business leaders about finding workable, non-partisan solutions to health care issues. It will take all of us working together to find successful solutions to our nation’s health care crisis.
For Texas Health Resources and its faith-based hospitals – Harris Methodist, Presbyterian and Arlington Memorial – I’m Doug Hawthorne.
