As countries’ pre-set time frames for achieving UHC draws near, many are looking into ways of ensuring that there is sustained good healthcare for the citizenry. Many have realized that focusing too much on treatment of cases as they arise is always more costly than carrying out preventive measures. There has therefore been an increase in prevention.
According to Jayesh Saini, a key player in healthcare, educating people on healthy life styles is a good venture but notes that some of the diseases are very subtle and could be without symptoms for a long time. Such diseases are normally diagnosed when they are critically advanced. Jayesh says that as more and more packages are developed to ensure all citizens are covered for medical attention when needed, there is need to make compulsory screening for some diseases through all medical covers, whether through public or private insurance covers. Some of the screening require inexpensive services that could save lives, reduce progression of treatable conditions and bring comfort to the affected. Jayesh notes for example, that screening for high blood pressure and cholesterol levels can help prevent cardiac arrest or strokes which in the end would protect the people from having to go for the expensive treatments such as clearing of blocked blood vessels (angioplasty). Carrying out screening for cancers may help detect cancer in early stages where intervention is possible before it reaches the very expensive to treat/manage late stages of the disease, which would also increase the chances of survival with better health results. Random screening of blood sugar would also help detect any signs of diabetes, whereby in the pre-diabetes symptoms, a person would be put on diet and lifestyle plans to ensure they do not get diabetes while where diabetes is detected, interventions are there which can in some cases reverse the conditions which means one is saved from life long expensive insulin injections with all the complications associated with the disease. Given the rising cases of what is being concluded to be psycho-social problems leading to suicide and murder related deaths, screening for depression should be a priority especially amongst populations that deal with very stressful (mental, emotional, financial, relational, etc.) occupations such as those in healthcare, rescue missions, military, security or those dealing with loved ones with healthcare severe chronic conditions that require 24-7 attention and people going though drug and alcohol abuse.
In recognizing that there are already packages offered by private insurance firms that include annual checkup for a numerous of conditions, it is our believe that all healthcare packages should have this preventive measure included because these conditions are not respecter of economic position. Mr Saini also notes that even though it works for the advantage of the recipient in the long run, it is normally for detecting what becomes an exclusion or what attains what limitation in coverage. Even though it may not be practical for all the population at the same time, priorities should be made based on the prone populations for the disease groups. For example, there are those diseases that are more skewed to the older generations and those like obesity related ones amongst the younger people. Apart from this group, the economically needy should be included irrespective of age because these are unlikely to go for medical attention unless the situations are so dire and many a times are taken to health facilities when they are too sick to even understand what is going on. Governments should encourage and where possible give incentives to health facilities that provide free screening services to the underprivileged clusters of people around where they serve. The governments should also make it their responsibility and identify public facilities where the screening services can be offered both at free of cost or at rebated rates depending on data on who can afford.
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