A new world.

Health and dental care have changed dramatically in the past few years. This quote illustrates what I mean—

"Paul Wallace (Executive Director of the Kaiser Permanente Care Management Institute and new Chairman of the Center for Information Therapy Board of Directors) closed the conference by describing the 3 shifts in the last 1000 years of teaching medicine. From about 1000 to 1500, 'the only person who had the book was the professor.' After the invention of the printing press, 'the medical students finally had the book,' which posed a big challenge to the medical school faculty of the time. That archetype basically lasted for the next 500 years, but 'now, the patient has the book.' That represents the paradigm shift of the new millennium."

It will only take a few more years till the line about “the patient has the book” will be re-written to state “the client has the book”. Information is the fuel of self-responsibility. The big question, however, is whether we are ready and willing to accept the responsibility and use it to our advantage.

Comedian George Carlin points out that we don’t always want responsibility.

“New Rule: I’m not the cashier! By the time I look up from sliding my card, entering my PIN number, pressing ‘Enter’, verifying the amount, deciding, no, I don’t want cash back and pressing ‘Enter’ again, the kid who is supposed to be ringing me up is standing there eating my Mars bar.”

Like it or not, be prepared to take control. Dental plans are cutting back. Pension benefits are diminishing. Education becomes obsolete more quickly. Food choices tempt us to overeat high fat and sugary foods. Why walk when you can ride? Government medical plans are being recognized as ‘repair plans’ rather than ‘health plans’. The future is now and the choice is yours.

Proceed to July 2008 Dental Amalgam

Return to Dental Currrents index page