Why is Preventive Medicine Important
Preventive medicine aims to prevent or halt a health condition through the actions of governments, doctors and/or patients themselves. This approach can significantly improve health outcomes and be much more cost effective than treating or managing chronic diseases. According to a Statistics Canada webpage published in 2023 “77,000, or one-quarter, of the over 307,000 deaths in Canada in 2020 were potentially avoidable” with 50% of these deaths due to cancer or heart disease.
Consider the impact of dietary improvements alone. According to recent research unhealthy eating is the leading risk for death in Canada and has been estimated to kill about 48,000 Canadians annually. The economic burden of poor diet is estimated to be CAD $13.8 billion annually.
Next consider lack of physical exercise. Physical inactivity is the second most common risk factor for cancer accounting for about 11,000 new cancer cases in 2021. Research has also stated that physical inactivity is a major cause of premature death due to heart conditions, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Washing your hands can also help. According to the BC Centre for Disease Control “Eighty percent of common infections are spread by hands. Washing your hands at least five times a day has been shown to significantly decrease the frequency of colds, COVID-19, influenza (the “flu”) and other infections. Not only will it help keep you healthy, it will help prevent the spread of infectious diseases to others.”
Other preventive measures include vaccinations, screenings for diseases such as cancers, avoiding illicit narcotics, limiting alcohol consumption, losing weight, quitting smoking, and safe sex to prevent sexually transmitted diseases. A host of preventive medicine measures are linked to the natural environment. These includes measures such as ensuring good air and water quality as well as avoiding harmful chemicals in food and consumer products.
These and other preventive measures can have a significant impact on reducing the prevalence of diseases.
How Much Money Can Be Saved
Research from the University of Calgary studied how much money can be saved through preventive medicine practices. According to the research, preventive illnesses cost the Alberta health care system over $10,000 dollars per person. Spending $2,300 dollars per person on preventive measures was found to achieve positive health outcomes and reduce the incidence of disease. Scaling up the program in Alberta was estimated to result in a $500 million dollar reduction on hospital and physician costs in Alberta.
Preventive Medicine in Canada
To better understand current and possible future preventive medicine practices in Canada we spoke to Dr. Roland Grad who is a past co-chair of the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care. According to him the most important existing preventive health programs pursued in Canada are child immunization and smoking cessation programs. An important next step to pursue in Canada include ensuring that everyone has a family doctor to assist in making good preventive health decisions such as working with patients on preventing diseases such as heart disease. Provincial programs also need to be better at assisting patients who do not have a family physician, and this includes measures such as better provincial cancer screening programs for these patients. Dr Grad also emphasized the importance of the Social Determinants of Health which, according to the World Health Organization, “are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes” These include factors such as food insecurity, education, income, unemployment, housing, the natural environment and non-discrimination. Countries that address these social factors tend to have healthier populations. Numerous studies indicate that SDH account for between 30-55% of health outcomes.
How is it Practiced in Richmond Hill
According to Dr. Barry Pakes – the Medical Officer of Health in York Region – York Region helps residents stay healthy with programs and services that prevent disease, support community development, protect resident safety and promote healthy lifestyles. When asked about the future of preventive medicine locally he states the importance of establishing an equitable approach to preventive medicine such as reproductive and sexual health programs at no cost as well as programs and services catered to seniors and their needs, like dental services. He also emphasizes the need to have a proper community engagement strategy to help residents maintain their overall health. He cites York Region’s Opioid Action Plan “which was developed with people with lived experiences”.
We need to focus more on preventive medicine practices to reduce the number of preventable deaths in Canada and ensure a high quality of life at reduced costs to our health care system.
