Month: February 2015

MANAGING THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF CHRONIC ILLNESSES

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An article on an EMS blog caught my eye in the past week:

COPD was the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2011 and is expected to become the third-leading cause of death worldwide by 2020.

Source:

Hoyert DL, Xu JQ. Deaths: preliminary data for 2011. Natl Vital Stat Rep, 2012; 61(6): 1–65.

Lopez AD, Shibuya K. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: current burden and future projections. Eur Respir J, 2006; 27(2): 397.

This caused me to dig up a presentation I did in 2006 at a Fitness Seminar, wherein I was discussing chronic medical conditions, which are caused by poor lifestyle choices and I noted then:

In 1999 CVD contributed to a third of global deaths. In 1999, low and middle income countries contributed to 78% of CVD deaths. By 2010 CVD is estimated to be the leading cause of death in developing countries. Heart disease has no geographic, gender or socio-economic boundaries.

I further stated:

Chronic illness have overtaken communicable disease as a major cause of death and disability worldwide. chronic diseases, including such noncommunicable conditions as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory disease, are now the major cause of death and disability, not only in developed countries, but also worldwide. The greatest total numbers of chronic disease deaths and illnesses now occur in developing countries.

I then dug deeper to see how this has changed since 2006, and the outlook has become even more bleak!

More than 75% of all deaths worldwide are due to noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). NCD deaths worldwide now exceed all communicable, maternal and perinatal nutrition-related deaths combined and represent an emerging global health threat. Every year, NCDs kill 9 million people under 60 years of age. The socio-economic impact is staggering. These NCD-related deaths are caused by chronic diseases, injuries, and environmental health factors. Important risk factors for chronic diseases include tobacco, excessive use of alcohol, an unhealthy diet, physical inactivity, and high blood pressure.

The world now suffers from a global epidemic of poor lifestyle choices! Medically we call them chronic illnesses or NCD’s, but the issue at hand is that they can be avoided, reversed and prevented; with smarter lifestyle choices. The why and the how of these lifestyle choices is a debate for another blog, but poor socioeconomic conditions, poverty, malnourishment and diets deficient in basic nutritional building blocks all form part of this dynamic.

These poor lifestyle choices and the death, illness, and disability they cause will soon dominate health care costs and should be causing public health officials, governments and multinational institutions to rethink how they approach this growing global challenge. To exacerbate the matter; the deaths, illnesses and disability are spiralling at even faster rates in the developing world, where the infrastructure is even weaker than in the developed world.

causeofdeathdevelopingcountries

It is estimated that by 2020 the number of people who die from ischemic heart disease will increase by approximately 50% in countries with established market economies and formerly socialist economies, and by over 100% in low- and middle-income countries. Similar increases will also be found in cerebrovascular disease (Stroke) by 2020!

This is indeed a frightening prospect; NCDs are expected to account for 7 of every 10 deaths in the world! The overextended healthcare systems in Africa and Asia will battle to cope with these spiralling patient numbers.

A (positive) point to ponder as we consider this bleak outlook; the principal known causes of premature death from NCDs are tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, and harmful alcohol consumption – all of these are preventable and manageable; as they relate to personal choices. Therefore we need to focus on creating a environment where these same individuals can make the correct choices which will have a positive impact on their lives. This is where governments, aid agencies and multi-nationals should focus their energies, and the approach should be more carrot than stick, which is not the case at present.

Reference’s:

http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/128038/1/9789241507509_eng.pdf

CORPORATE RESPONSIBILITY AND DUTY OF CARE – HEALTH INSURANCE AND ASSISTANCE

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“Between one in two and one in three expatriates has no international health insurance”
International Private Medical Insurance Magazine from the report: International And Expatriate Healthcare And Insurance 2014

I believe this to be a very accurate statement notably, with regard to the African continent (where I spend most of my time), this figure might even be flattering to some companies employing expat staff in Africa.

The globally mobile population has grown dramatically. There are over 50 million expatriates, and by 2020 this will be 60 million. 232 million people now live away from their country of birth.
Between one in two and one in three expatriates has no international health insurance, although a minority is covered by domestic health insurance. Several countries seek to get expatriates and migrants to pay for healthcare or have compulsory health insurance.

This is a disturbing issue, as too many companies are happy to send their staff abroad, or to remote work sites, without any or inadequate medical cover; be it insurance or assistance. This shows very poor duty of care. In discussions with some of these companies, when trying to assist them with advice on even basic assistance packages or client managed services, their responses are troubling; when viewed against the light of corporate responsibility and duty of care. To defer the responsibility to the employee and abdicate corporate responsibility, should be cause for concern.

The duty of care of the employer, is a term that is often thrown about and The UN Global Compact, is one way that companies are being encouraged to show a greater duty of care, although some would cynically say that Corporate Social Responsibility is a box-ticking exercise, companies are just paying lip service, but do no more than is necessary to avoid affecting the bottom line. The UN Global Compact, is engaging over 8,000 companies in more than 145 countries on human rights, labour standards, environment and anti-corruption, hopefully at the same time pushing to commit to a sustainable workforce, via duty of care and corporate social responsibility.

The level of care offered by companies, will depend where the company is registered, as to what laws could be enforceable, hence most companies register an off-shore shell for hiring, staffing and contracts. (this is in itself a topic for another day – relating to contracts, taxes etc.)

Possibly other avenues should be explored, with respect to medical assistance/insurance; by pushing that investors use their muscle, ensuring that their investment capital is being well managed. Staff that cannot be properly cared for (ex-pat and local), via medical cover that is in place, place a further drain on company resources, shifting capital away from its intended purpose. A well managed corporate health care plan, ensures ongoing confidence in the company.

Till now I have only been speaking about expat staff, but the issue of medical care for local staff would also need to be addressed, in fact poor care for expat staff, could be viewed as an indicator of poor care for local staff. The ever growing impact of business on society means that staff, investors and consumers expect corporate power to be exerted responsibly, the corporate community will have to step up its game and build greater trust with respect to duty of care. Business are being expected to do more in areas that used to be the exclusive domain of the public sector – ranging from health, education and to community investment.

Having insurance/assistance programs from reputable companies, linked to well managed onsite managed health care programs, which is in place for ALL staff, makes good business sense. This then empowers staff to work safely in environments that might be deemed risky, allowing them to work with confidence and be fully focussed on their daily tasks.

Reference’s:

http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/2788557/international_and_expatriate_healthcare_and

https://www.unglobalcompact.org/abouttheGC/thetenprinciples/index.html