Former Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services Visits UAMS

By Nate Hinkel

UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., chats with Louis Sullivan, M.D., a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., talks with Louis Sullivan, M.D., a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.


Billy Thomas, M.D., vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at UAMS hosted the conversation with Sullivan at the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health.


Sullivan said the backbone of reforming the country’s health care system will be putting responsibility and accountability back into patients’ hands to better control their unique outcomes.

April 23, 2012 | While great strides are being made to address the population’s health needs, the path to a more efficient health care system in America is “not merely a rifle shot, it’s much more comparable to a buckshot,” according to a former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

 

Louis Sullivan, M.D., who served as the nation’s 17th secretary from 1989 to 1993 and is the founding dean and first president of the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, was referring to the complexity of addressing several areas within the current health care system, including reforming payment structures and incorporating the idea of patient-centered medical homes, which the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) has already prioritized.

 

“We have a lot of very smart people in this country doing a lot of amazing things in medicine and research,” Sullivan said. “It’s a matter of getting everyone on the same page and heading toward a common goal to make our health care system as efficient and patient-centered as Americans deserve.”

 

The UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs, UAMS Chancellor Dan Rahn, M.D., and Billy Thomas, M.D., vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at UAMS, hosted “A Conversation with the Honorable Louis Sullivan, M.D.” Friday at the Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health. Sullivan also participated as a special guest at the Arkansas Minority Health Commission’s Biennial Health Summit, where he — along with several UAMS physicians, researchers and public health experts — conducted various seminars and workshops throughout the day.

 

While acknowledging the myriad problems facing the country’s health care system, Sullivan continually focused on the importance of putting health outcomes into the hands of the patients.

 

“It’s a major challenge to put patients at the center of the system,” he said. “We all want to live longer, healthier lives. But we need to promote personal accountability and show them ways they can take charge of their health on their own in order to do that.”

 

Merging public health research and practices into the health care model will be an integral part of accomplishing that, Sullivan said. Changing personal behaviors and “conveying the importance of exercise and a good diet without coming across like we’re telling them how to live their lives” is the challenge.

 

In his opening remarks Thomas emphasized the fact that in spite of the many technological advances in medicine resulting in improved health and reduced morbidity and mortality; it is becoming increasingly clear that multiple social factors and behavior have the biggest impact on individual and population health.

 

Former U.S. Surgeon-General Joycelyn Elders, M.D., also contributed to the discussion by emphasizing the importance of educators at all levels along with trusted members of the community communicating to students and citizens about ways to promote healthy lifestyles.

 

Rahn, who worked with Sullivan as a former president of the Medical College of Georgia and as the senior vice chancellor for health and medical programs for the University System of Georgia before coming to UAMS, closed the discussion.

 

“We know well the importance of public health initiatives here in Arkansas and the role they play in the overall health system,” Rahn said. “I think everyone here in this room has taken some positive things today from this discussion as we look toward incorporating them into our goals and mission.”