Akram Boutros, MD, the CEO of Cleveland-based MetroHealth, believes the city needs to focus more on health outcomes than medical prestige, according to a report from Cleveland.com.
Speaking at the City Club of Cleveland, Dr. Boutros pointed out a harsh reality: The city is known for prestigious hospitals, but its population still faces high levels of lead poisoning, infant mortality and opioid-related death. He believes addressing these issues will require Cleveland providers to focus on promoting health, rather than treating illness, and to address social determinants of health. Area health systems have spent about 5 percent of funding on services that address social determinants of health over the past 10 years, according to Dr. Boutros.
"When it comes to healthcare, we've reached our day of reckoning. We're killing ourselves," Dr. Boutros said, according to the report. "I can tell you I'm afraid. I am afraid that the chance for us to be a great city for healthcare, not medicine — there's a clear and distinct difference — is slipping away."
Read the full story here.
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