Thompson Delivers Commencement Speech to Chicago Medical School
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson on June 7 delivered the commencement address at the Chicago Medical School's Finch University of Health Sciences, stressing the importance of preventive care and future use of medical technology. "[T]he way we provide the high-quality care we now have is inefficient to the point of becoming archaic," Thompson said, adding, "Today's patient is given care to remedy existing illness and disease and usually is not given the kind of preventive care that forestalls illness and disease to begin with." He added that "our system of health care delivery has not matured at the same pace as our technology," noting that "some grocery stores have better technology than our hospitals and clinics." Thompson also addressed what he called a need to "fundamentally change" the current care delivery system, contending that the "myriad rules, regulations and restrictions that make obtaining good health care ... difficult, if not impossible, have to be reviewed, and when necessary, jettisoned." He concluded, "We need to rethink the way we provide health care in our country ... through effective action that leverages the coming technological advances with the forces of change we see on the horizon" (HHS release, 6/7).
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