From the top, down...left, right...corner to corner and all-around

Concentrating on preventative health is the key to effectively taming soaring health care costs, without adding extra burden on our health care workforce. I align with this week's article and say that a comprehensive support system is a good way to upgrade our preventative care system. A patient has a better chance of managing his his condition from a vertical and horizontal lifestyle management or as the article says, "Effective chronic illness management requires an appropriately organized delivery system linked with complementary community resources available outside the organization." Not only do patients need reminders from their primary care providers but they also need to get their family and friends involved. On a larger scale, patients can also be reminded by community support groups through AA meetings or through Public Service Announcements. Furthermore, government can get involved on an even larger scale by reinforcing or rewarding positive behavior change, as it has in many behaviors like installing sidewalks, banning public smoking, or implementing sexual education classes for middle school students.
Ultimately, it comes down to convincing the individual to change their lifestyle. This will slow the rate of chronic disease in the community, which will control costs as well as the burden on the health care workforce and I believe that a social comprehensive model is the most effective way to make it happen.