The Health Plaza
Much of modern medical practice founded outside of the hospital environment was developed in the 19th century and into the early part of the 20th century.
There are important medical practices that provide services outside of a hospital: dentistry, rhinology, ophthalmology, psychiatry…
Often these medical providers gather in a Medical Plaza. It is hard to pinpoint a timeframe, but it appears the Medical Plaza concept didn’t become popularized until the late 20th century.
As all economic decisions go, a large percentage of the reason to create a Medical Plaza must have been to share the expense of leasing and utilities. There is also no denying that there is an advantage to assembling in a common area for shared clients and convenience and optimizing operations.
The medical care given in these Medical Plazas is considered part of the greater “Healthcare,” even if they are not included in your monthly healthcare plan.
There is a growing conversation that “Healthcare” is really just Sick Care. Hopefully as this terminology acclimatizes, a new approach will be needed to find true Health Care.
Soon afterward, or in my belief simultaneously, we will need the Health Plaza.
The potential expansion of the Health Plaza as a professional endeavor is virtually limitless, perhaps even more so than the “Healthcare” system has become. “Healthcare” as a professional endeavor, in essence, extends itself any time it finds a way to re-actively stave off death or dysfunction for just a bit longer, but Health Care has them beaten. Health Care has already figured out how to proactively stave off death and dysfunction, and Health Care professionals are hardly paid for it yet.
The NIH determined that the average “Healthcare” expense (including those Medical Plaza services) per American in 2016 was $5,006. That’s $417. Per person. Per month.
Emergency medical care will not completely go away, and regular medical care from the Medical Plaza will not completely go away…
But how much could, or would, the expense go away with proper Health Care?
Or how much would the value for quality Health Care increase hence causing the cost of “Healthcare” to decrease?
Health Plaza’s are the future. Experienced, Professional Health Services under one roof.
What forms of Health Care would be provided in the Health Plaza? That can be answered by basic economics: what providers can benefit from the shared space, plus what combination of services provides the most benefit as a conjunctive group for their clients. Not every Medical Plaza provides the same Healthcare professionals at each location. Two plaza’s could be less than a mile from each other and provide different services. Health Plaza’s can be the same.
The next simple and most basic qualifier for determining forms of Health Care to provide at the Health Plaza: what provides the most direct path to Health?
Fitness
Nutrition
Range of Motion / Flexibility
Mental/Social well-being
These four facets of Health blend together, overlap one another, and even extend into other forms outside Health Care, like Sick Care.
Example of this blending: Group fitness includes a component of community which is a large part of social well-being. Fitness also includes a mind/body awareness experienced at varying levels of intensity, key components of mental well-being and often borders on spiritual well-being.
Example of this extension: Chiropractics can be, and should be, preventive in nature. Proper alignment allows for proper functioning of the nerves, organs, and muscles. However, Chiropractics is often used today as Sick Care, and should continue as such, to realign the body following sudden misalignment, or gradual misalignment due to injury or misuse.
Just as the Medical Plaza promotes itself as a location of professionals skilled in scientific method, research, and practice, the Health Plaza must also promote itself as such.
Training, experience, and continuing education are hallmarks of professional Health Care. Regulation, oversight, and quality of care measurements are also crucial components of professional Health Care. It is possible that there is one single reason that the public has so quickly opened up to options away from Sick Care, and that reason is greed. When the outcomes and value of care seems precipitous, while others profits skyrocket, alternatives are sought.
There will be one driving force to meeting a necessary quality of care measurement, and hence become the sole reason for the professional viability of the Health Plaza:
Measurable, sustainable, and positive outcomes, long-term, for all.