How to improve the healthcare system

What would it take for us to improve the healthcare system? Dr Glen Davies shares his views on how we can create a better version of the primary health care system by focussing on clients’ needs and restoring their health.

1. Time

Clients would have sufficient time to describe their symptoms. Both the client and doctor will have time to introduce themselves to each other to allow relationship to form (Hui Method). There will be time for the Doctor to listen and take a detailed history, looking for the cause of the problem. There will be time to consider possible diagnoses, explore the most likely and discuss options. Doctors will be able to do what they have been trained to do, with time.

2. Cure

The fundamental problem with primary care is that clients are not getting better. Clients need to recover and be discharged. As an analogy, If I owned a mechanics workshop and 6 cars came in the morning but only 5 left, very quickly this system would become overwhelmed. The capitation model encourages medical centres to hoard patients. The system is overrun. We need to fund a system that rewards healing, not hoarding.

What if we actually healed people? We restored health and discharged clients back to the community to self-manage.

This is the only way we will create time and space in the system.

3. Find the cause

Current medicine is treating the symptoms. We must look for the cause of the problem. Instead of starting a pill for high blood pressure why not ask why is the blood pressure high and treat the cause. We now recognise the cause for most modern illnesses is the modern lifestyle particularly the S.A.D. (Standard American/Australian/Aotearoa diet) causing insulin resistance.

Finding and treating the cause avoids the need for most medications and restores health, decompressing the system.

4. Health is more than the absence of disease

Health is the ability to adapt and self-manage when faced with the challenges of life. Primary health care must change its focus to restoring health. Clients need to be supported to develop the skills to self-manage.

Our team at Reversal NZ is focused on empowering clients to restore their own health and to self-manage. When a doctor is asked how many clients does she have on her books the answer should ultimately be NONE. No one needs me anymore. They are all managing their own health challenges. This is not complicated, it just requires effective consults with time, looking for the cause of the problems, effective treatments and empowerment of clients to restore their own health.

Glen Davies

Glen Davies

PREKURE Science Faculty and GP at Reversal NZ

Dr Glen Davies is a GP specialist with dual fellowships in both general practice and lifestyle medicine. He is a passionate advocate of lifestyle approaches to reversing chronic disease. Through his prescription of LCHF/ keto diets, he has helped over 100 patients reverse their prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.

Glen was recognised for his work in 2021 by being awarded the prestigious GP of the year title at the NZ primary care awards.

Becoming frustrated by failing to address prevention and by managing treatable conditions rather than aiming for cure, Glen “why” is now to make a difference as a healer and to contribute to the creation of healthier communities. He combines the power of Low Carb/Healthy Fat, Ketogenic Diets and fasting with a coach approach, to walk beside clients supporting them on their healing journey.

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