Shop with Your Doc

http://www.stjhs.org/HealthCalling/2015/October/Shop-With-Your-Doc.aspx

There is a program sponsored by St. Joseph Hoag Health, in Orange County, called Shop with Your Doc.

Basically, what the doctors there are doing is acknowledging that people’s regular eating and exercise habits have a much huge effect on their health. This initiative stations doctors and nutritionists in supermarkets to offer free blood pressure checks, educate shoppers about the link between high-salt processed foods and high blood pressure, give free guided tours, offer samples of healthy foods and answer questions and offer advice about healthy eating — all for free.

And according to the article and hospital officials, Doctors from the seven St. Joseph Hoag Health centers who participated in the events at Ralphs and Food 4 Less stores this year have provided information to about 7,000 customers.

So what makes this so awesome is the fact that historically, physicians make money when patients get sick because they charge for treatment.

Now, due to the changes put into place by the Affordable Care Act, doctors are increasingly paid a lump sum to provide all of a patient’s medical treatments for a year, instead of the typical fee-for-service model. So hospitals can actually save money when patients don’t need medical care.

Which is why they’re beginning to consider new ways to improve the health of their communities.

The bottom line is we’re starting to see movement in the right direction, especially with a $3-trillion healthcare system which never really had any incentives to do this.

So there you have it! The healthcare system finally is taking baby steps to try and catch up with the practice of using food as medicine by creating programs that look beyond the hospital room or doctor’s office.

And that’s the Good News!