WEST MICHIGAN — On the week following International Women's Day, health professionals are celebrating the advances in women's health. Dr. Diana Bitner with True. Women's Health says the continued push to treat illness and promote health will help people reach their goals.
International Women's Day reminds us that progress happens when systems evolve. Medicine is great for treating surgeries and infections, but many of the health issues women experience can unfold over decades, requiring health providers to recognize risk factors and heading them off at the start.
The future of medicine isn't just discovering new treatments, it's designing care systems to help people use what is already known. There are three specific examples where we need to push for more change:
1. Cancer Survivorship
Millions of survivors are now living decades after cancer, yet care becomes fragmented. No one owns the integrated picture of health and recovery. Dr. Bitne says this is a classic care delivery problem, and the patient is often left trying to be her own project manager.
Common issues cancer survivors face:
- Early menopause from chemotherapy
- Heart risk after certain treatments
- Bone loss
- Sexual health changes
- Fatigue and cognitive changes
- Mental health impacts
- Metabolic changes and weight gain
2. Short 12-minute patient visits
The business of healthcare does not reward thinking or relationships, instead healthcare rewards volume of visits, procedures, and billing codes.
HCPs and patients are forced into:
- Short appointment times
- Symptom-by-symptom treatment
- Minimal time for prevention, lifestyle, or complex conversations
3. Prevention of chronic disease
Most major health issues seen in a person don't happen overnight. To prevent, it requires tracking over time, coordinated care, teaching the why, and behavior changes within the context of a person's life, culture and needs. None of this fits neatly into short patient visits.
Examples:
- Menopause treatment
- Cancer survivorship
- cardiovascular health
- autoimmune disease
- chronic pain
- sexual health
- sleep disorders
As a result, patients are forced to become project managers of their own health. The patient may become the care coordinator, often without the knowledge of how to do it effectively.
Dr. Bitner says if you are a man or women, use International Women’s Day as inspiration to demand more from the healthcare system. You and the people around you are deserving
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