Track Your Plaque goes global

21. September 2007 William Davis (3)
I don't use this space to toot my horn (at least I don't too often), but we were looking at the listings of our viewers and members. I was surprised to learn that we now have Track Your Plaque followers in 15 different countries around the world!

We have members from Europe including England, Ireland, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. We have members from as far away as South Africa, Australia, India, Singapore, Thailand, and China.

I see the entire Track Your Plaque process as a grand experiment. Never before in history has a system of health been delivered via a communication medium like the web. The internet provides more interactivity than television, it's more fluid than a book, it's more dynamic and evolves more rapidly than a face-to-face interaction. While we cannot be hands-on over the internet, we can still deliver all the crucial information and, hopefully, the knowledge on how to get it done.



Track Your Plaque is part of an even grander experiment: The movement to shift control over health away from the medical system, doctors, and hospitals and back to individuals. When you think about it, the idea that "health" (more acurately sickness) should be managed by people and institutions (e.g., hospitals and insurance companies) outside of the individual is a 20th century concept. I predict that this notion will also become a relic of the 20th century.

Someday, we will look back and laugh at the folly of the 20th century style of paternalistic health care. Perhaps it was a necessary step in the sequence to transform health to a better system that returns control to the individual. But it's clearly time for a change.

Track Your Plaque is an example of the extraordinary power that can be taken by a lone individual with only minimal assistance of a health care provider. I see Track Your Plaque members who understand heart disease (at least the coronary disease aspect) far better than 95% of my cardiology colleagues, 100% of my internal medicine and family practice colleagues. Physicians maintain a role, but their role has shrunk and receded. They should be facilitators of success in health, educators, a resource to turn to when we need help. It's not that way today. It will be in 50 years.

But, right now, we can get started on this wonderfully self-empowering--liberating-- movement by participating in this global experiment known as Track Your Plaque, the program with the goofy name that has the potential to usurp and unravel this enormous institutionalized system of health care the world has created.
Tags :

Comments (3) -

  • J Phillip

    9/21/2007 1:01:00 PM |

    Bravo, Dr. Davis!  As always, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head. It is refreshing to see a medical professional who truly believes that cardiac (and overall medical) care should be the responsibility of the individual with guidance as necessary from their doctor.  Every time I see my doctor (part of a large hospital-based practice), he only wants to schedule a $5000 stress test, even though I have repeatedly 'stressed' to him that I feel great, have no symptoms and would much rather have a heart scan (alas his hosptal does not offer this test, so it is clearly not an option... I'll have to arrange for it on my own... taking care of my own health, I imagine!).  The doctor only rolls his eyes, I can only guess he doesn't understand the importance of the scan or views it as unimportant since his facility doesn't get to bill for it.  Who knows for sure, but it clearly is time for a new forward-thinking medical professional!
    I would like to tell you that I believe your blog is of immense value to those with current cardiac disease, as well likely as anyone over the age of 30 with a heart, and I look forward to every post... thanks!

  • J Phillip

    9/21/2007 1:02:00 PM |

    Bravo, Dr. Davis!  As always, you have hit the proverbial nail on the head. It is refreshing to see a medical professional who truly believes that cardiac (and overall medical) care should be the responsibility of the individual with guidance as necessary from their doctor.  Every time I see my doctor (part of a large hospital-based practice), he only wants to schedule a $5000 stress test, even though I have repeatedly 'stressed' to him that I feel great, have no symptoms and would much rather have a heart scan (alas his hosptal does not offer this test, so it is clearly not an option... I'll have to arrange for it on my own... taking care of my own health, I imagine!).  The doctor only rolls his eyes, I can only guess he doesn't understand the importance of the scan or views it as unimportant since his facility doesn't get to bill for it.  Who knows for sure, but it clearly is time for a new forward-thinking medical professional!
    I would like to tell you that I believe your blog is of immense value to those with current cardiac disease, as well likely as anyone over the age of 30 with a heart, and I look forward to every post... thanks!

  • wccaguy

    9/23/2007 2:56:00 AM |

    Kudos to you Dr. Davis for the work you've done to understand the various dimensions of dealing with coronary artery disease in preventative and crisis management situations.

    Thanks also for not sitting on that knowledge but instead establishing a vision and engaging in activity to assist those of us who suffer from the disease to make more informed and better choices to deal with it.

    I just found your work in the last 6 weeks or so and still have a lot to digest and implement.  Nevertheless, to be honest, I already consider you to be the best source for cardiology information and advice.

    My HMO has been great and I'm sure will be great as needed in my crisis situations but is virtually worthless for purposes of understanding prevention except to process my lipid medication prescriptions.

    I'm moving through your TrackYourPlaque book now.  It's great.

    Thanks.

Add comment

Loading