Author Dan Pelino recently spoke to the fifth annual Kennedy Forum in Chicago on his book, “Trusted Healers: Dr. Paul Grundy and the Global Healthcare Crusade.”
Through interviews with dozens of experts, the book explores themes around health care leadership and accessibility and proper patient care. His findings are based on a year of following Dr. Paul Grundy, godfather of the primary care medical home movement, across the United States and around the globe.
“Personalized, precision medicine and care is what’s needed to heal our ineffective system,” Pelino said. “After visiting, along with Dr. Grundy, a slew of health care leaders and innovators, who run clinics, government programs, and nonprofit health-delivery systems that have re-established the bond between patient and doctor, you’re left with the inevitable conclusion that we must champion everyone to have access to a personalized, primary care approach, where care is not determined by hospitals, governments or insurance companies.”
“Trusted Healers” takes readers through the evolution of health care, arguing that “the age of healthcare information is over, and that it is now about health care intelligence.” Pelino advocates for expanding certain services and approaches, including the primary care home, universal digital medical records and patient-centered wellness that focuses on nutrition, exercise and stress reduction.
“Trusted Healers” also explores how America’s health care compares to that of the rest of the world, and it delves into recent research on neuroplasticity and how individuals can rewire their brains to modify outcomes, including their own health.
Grundy served four American presidents and was decorated with numerous awards for his work that extends back to the AIDS epidemic. He served for nearly two decades as the chief medical officer and global director of IBM’s health care transformation. He’s also the founding president of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative.
“Trusted Healers” is published by Koehler Books and will be released Sept. 15.