Health care in America is shifting from reactive care; disease oriented health care, towards one of wellness and prevention and early diagnosing of diseases. The changes are happening due to the upsurge in chronic disorders such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. These chronic disorders are very costly to the consumer as well as the health care industry.
The reform places importance on the following:
“Keeping individuals healthy instead of the old fashioned way of treating the patient if they are sick” (Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics, INC., 2013).
“Prevention and delay on delay on onset of chronic disease” (OCD, INC., 2013).
“Managing chronic conditions through active partnership between patients and health care professionals” (OCD, INC., 2013).
“According to the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 133 million adults, or nearly half of all adults in America, are living with at least one chronic disease such as obesity, diabetes, or cardiovascular disease. Studies show that education and behavioral changes” (Luck, 2013). That is where a nurse’s skills, knowledge and the use of health promotion strategies come into the equation in the alteration from disease oriented health care to a wellness and prevention model of health care. The nurse in not only an educator, but a partner and collaborator, in a patient’s disease prevention and disease treatment process. Nurses can assist in this reform by imparting knowledge of health and wellness education, such types of education that a nurse can impart in her patients include: changing eating habits, maintenance of regular health care provider visits, understanding and watching laboratory results, taking medication correctly, and daily exercise plans.
“The American Nursing Association states, nurses are dynamic and continually evolving in response to the shifting needs, demands, and