When You Take Away Adversity You Also Take Away One of the Most Important Ingredients To Greatness

Posted by CopyTeam

 

In the risk management field, there is a theory called “black swan,” which is basically what happens when something completely unexpected occurs. In hindsight, economists rationalize that the signs were there, and the occurrence was entirely feasible. But in the wake of this utterly disruptive event, dramatic changes occur.

 

The coronavirus is not considered a black swan event. For decades, infectious disease and public health experts warned that a global pandemic was highly probable – even expected – despite the fact that we were caught seemingly unprepared.¹ However, experts believe the pandemic outcome represents a black swan phenomenon in at least one regard: Many components of our lives will be dramatically affected going forward — and some of those changes will be positive.

 

The pandemic revealed the risks of being unprepared at household, national and global levels. There is clearly work to be done to put public systems in place to better handle the next pandemic (of which scientists predict there will be many).² Every household’s need is different, so please feel free to contact us for a comprehensive insurance review.

 

World leaders appear to be recommitted to long-delayed policy issues that can strengthen our public safety nets. One of those issues is the need to address air pollution. Epidemiology and toxicology research has long touted the dangers of air pollution as it relates to chronic respiratory conditions that contribute to rising health care costs. Scientists say air pollution is on the rise due to the increase in wildfires, coastal flooding and allergenic pollens. There is a direct correlation between these types of weather events and public health in affected communities.³

 

Many of the innovations designed to mitigate climate change can help our health care as well. For example, health-care sector energy consumption represents 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. Deploying renewable energy sources would empower hospitals to generate much of their own energy for significant savings. Furthermore, solar windows installed in medical facilities would provide more natural light. Research shows exposure to natural light can lead to higher comfort and lower stress, which in turn has been shown to reduce patients’ need for pain medication by 22% per hour.⁴

 

For nearly a decade, the telehealth industry has encouraged health-care providers to utilize communication technologies more proactively to treat and monitor patients. Unfortunately, it took a pandemic to drive that message home. Looking ahead, continued use of video calls by primary-care physicians – in lieu of office consultations – can help reduce costlier visits to emergency rooms and urgent-care centers.⁵

 

The pandemic also accelerated the use of house calls and remote technologies to provide hospital-level care without hospital-level risk of infection and accompanying expenses. Medical advancements such as sensor technology, machine learning, pocket ultrasound devices, portable MRI machines and non-invasive blood chemistry assessment have all experienced real-world testing that has not only proven their value but also yielded cost savings.⁶

 

Hospitals were never a preferred venue, but now more than ever, patients and physicians are willing to try remote care opportunities to avoid a hospital stay. As the population continues to age and contagious diseases threaten community health, we will see households, providers, politicians, and the health care, tech and energy industries remain highly motivated to drive innovations that keep people safe.

 

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¹ John F. Murphy, Jerry Jones and James Conner. US National Library of Medicine. April 27, 2020. “The COVID‐19 pandemic: Is it a ‘Black Swan’? Some risk management challenges in common with chemical process safety.” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7235516/. Accessed April 21, 2021.

² Jan Dyer. Infection Control Today. March 1, 2021. “Ready for the Next Pandemic? (Spoiler Alert: It’s Coming).” https://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/view/ready-for-the-next-pandemic-spoiler-alert-it-s-coming-. Accessed April 21, 2021.

³ Vijay S. Limaye, Wendy Max, Juanita Constible and Kim Knowlton. HealthAffairs. December 2020. “Estimating The Costs Of Inaction And The Economic Benefits Of Addressing The Health Harms Of Climate Change.” https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.01109. Accessed April 21, 2021.

⁴ Jane Marsh. Altenergymag.com. April 12, 2021. “Will Renewable Energy Transform Health Care?” https://www.altenergymag.com/story/2021/04/will-renewable-energy-transform-health-care/34866/. Accessed April 21, 2021.

⁵ Jaimy Lee. Marketwatch. Oct. 24, 2020. “It took a pandemic for Americans to use this health-care innovation.” https://www.marketwatch.com/story/it-took-a-pandemic-for-americans-to-use-this-health-care-innovation-11603460547?mod=home-page. Accessed April 21, 2021.

⁶ Katie Adams. Becker’s Hospital Review. April 23, 2021. “What’s the future of hospital at home? 6 innovation execs weigh in.” https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/digital-transformation/what-s-the-future-of-hospital-at-home-5-innovation-execs-weigh-in.html. Accessed April 21, 2021.

Content prepared by Kara Stefan Communications.

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