On June 15, President Obama gave an address on health care reform to the American Medical Association in which he spoke about steps that need to be taken in order to improve the country’s health care.

“Some people have actually said the college health model is really a model the United States should look at in terms of a health care reform,” said Eric Davidson, associate director of health services.

Within the speech, President Obama addressed certain issues in American health care that are going to be focused on and some solutions to the problems were resembling of steps that some colleges have taken.

In his 50-plus minute address to the AMA, the President directly pointed out things that were in need of altering, citing talks that he has had with several different people.

One of the problems that was spoken about was the, as he stated, “disruptive and distracting” routine of doctors spending time completing authorization forms, writing appeal letters and partaking in other tasks that give them less time to “actually care for his patients.”

“Because we do not bill to third party insurance companies, we don’t have that problem,” said Davidson.

Also within the address, President Obama cited the problems that come along with forms that must be completed with a pen and stored away in a cabinet rather than keeping track of patients’ medical histories and prescriptions electronically in a private medical record.

“Eastern has had an electronic medical record in place for over five years,” said Davidson. “Pretty much any student that has entered the institution since 2003-2004 has an EMR.”

Another point of emphasis for President Obama was that of preventative health care. The President stated that a bigger investment in preventative care would help to avoid disease and illness in the first place, starting with people taking more responsibility for their own health and that of their children.

“It means going for a run or hitting the gym, and raising our children to step away from video games and spend more time playing outside,” said President Obama. “It also means cutting down on all the junk food that is fueling an epidemic of obesity, putting far too many Americans, young and old, at greater risk of costly, chronic conditions.”

According to Davidson, Eastern has taken a similar approach to the problem of sickness. “We are really trying to engage in best practices which enhance student learning as well as create positive behavioral change,” he said. “We have increased our focus on preventative health. We have built a much stronger infrastructure.”

Spenser Nobles can be reached at 581-7943 or at [email protected].