David Houle is a futurist, advisor and speaker and co-author of our book, The New Health Age: The Future of Health Care in America. We were offered an opportunity to guest post on medpagetoday’s KevinMD blog.
The viral nature of this article is incredible. I encourage you to check it out. I have responded with comments to comments.
For centuries, hospitals have served as a cornerstone to the U.S. health care system. During various touch points in life, Americans connect with a hospital during their most intimate and extraordinary circumstances. Most Americans are born in hospitals. Hospitals provide care after serious injuries and during episodes of severe sickness or disease. Hospitals are predominately where our loved ones go to die. Across the nation, hospitals have become embedded into the sacred fabric of communities.
According to the American Hospital Association, in 2011 approximately 5,754 registered hospitals existed in the U.S., housing 942,000 hospital beds along with 36,915,331 admissions. More than 1 in 10 Americans were admitted to a hospital last year.
