The Power of Prevention
The medical community agrees with Benjamin Franklin: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Research shows that when you practice that philosophy in healthcare, you can improve quality of life, reduce suffering, manage chronic disease better, extend lives and, in the long run, save money.
(Pictured: Erick Laventure plays tennis regularly with his three kids, including Emmanuel, 10, and Christine, 13.)
One of the best ways to apply a preventive healthcare philosophy is by screening people for signs of wellness or illness, based on their age, gender and such risk factors as family history and lifestyle.
Armed with information about cholesterol, blood pressure, bone density, blood sugar and body mass index, people can make
lifestyle changes, keep up what they’re doing or start medical treatment, when necessary. Those with clear risk factors or symptoms
can undergo further tests prescribed by their doctors.
High blood sugar may portend diabetes, for example, but losing weight, exercising and eating a healthy diet often reduce and
control blood sugar levels, as well as lowering blood pressure.
“The conversation surrounding healthy living and chronic disease management has become a very important conversation
at the national level,” said Thinh Tran, M.D., Baptist Health’s chief quality officer.
But when it comes to whom to screen, and when, and how,recommendations differ among physicians, medical societies and government agencies. The cancer screening guidelines, in particular, can be complicated and controversial because it’s sometimes difficult to balance the benefits and risks of various screening tests.
For example, routine screening for prostate cancer using the PSA (prostate specific antigen) blood test is not recommended by
the American Cancer Society, and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says the evidence is insufficient to recommend for or
against it. Two recent studies found the PSA test saves few lives and leads to unnecessary treatment for many men.
Baptist Health’s screening guidelines committee, chaired by Dr. Tran, reviews recommendations from national groups and
Baptist Health’s medical staff. Almost every weekend, Baptist Health sponsors or participates in health fairs at its hospitals,
medical plazas and community events to give people easy access to basic screenings.
“Baptist Health is committed to evaluating the evidence and engaging our physician specialists to put the best highlights out
there when it comes to prevention and chronic disease management,” Dr. Tran said. “However, these are only recommendations
and the decision of care always should reside with individuals and their physicians.”
And individuals need to take responsibility for knowing their numbers.
“Start from an annual checkup,” said cardiologist Theodore Feldman, M.D., medical director of South Miami Heart Center. “Be aware
of your risk factors in terms of heart disease, obesity and diabetes.”
From there, if necessary, incorporate “TLC” into your life – what Dr. Feldman calls “therapeutic lifestyle changes.” You might
need to lose weight, do regular aerobic exercise, and trade meals high in salt, simple sugars and saturated fat with a diet rich in
food that grows out of the ground and falls from trees.
Baptist Health’s 13,000 employees provide a microcosm for the potential benefits of routine health screenings. Since 2001,
Baptist Health has offered screenings for employees and their families. The data show a trend toward lower cholesterol and
blood sugar levels, said Maribeth Rouseff, who heads Baptist Health’s employee health services.
Erick Laventure, a 49-year-old architect with a family history of heart attack, got back on track after participating in Families
Step Up, a comprehensive wellness program for Baptist Health employees and their families. An initial screening showed that Mr.
Laventure’s blood pressure was high, even though he was on blood pressure medicine. “I stopped eating salt and the blood
pressure went right down,” Mr. Laventure said. “I also needed my medication increased.”
He started on an exercise routine with his wife, a South Miami Hospital lab technician, and their three children, and discovered
ways to eat better. “I learned a lot,” Mr. Laventure said.
Evidence is under review for whether more sophisticated screening tests for heart disease would be beneficial, though
expert panels have rejected the idea in the past. “Despite more cardiovascular death and disease than all cancers combined,
there are no specific screening guidelines,” said cardiologist Jonathan Fialkow, M.D., medical director of the Chest Pain Center
at Baptist Hospital. “Part of this is because there is no definitive safe and inexpensive test and part is that there is debate as to
what constitutes ‘disease.’ ”
In the end, health screenings benefit those who get good news,as well as those who need closer medical monitoring, Dr. Feldman
said. “We think of screenings as identifying high-risk people and getting them into the system. But they also give a majority of
people the reassurance that they are at low risk and should continue to follow the lifestyle that keeps them at low risk.”
— Patty Shillington
NEED A DOCTOR?
If you’re looking for a family practice physician or specialist, the free Baptist Health Physician Referral Service can help. Call
786-596-6557 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. or visit baptisthealth.net and click on Find a Doctor. For a Baptist Cardiac & Vascular Institute physician, call 786-596-2700;for a South Miami Heart Center physician, call 786-662-2222.