Innovation and the Triple Solution

Innovation
The Triple Solution for a Healthier America is a three-part approach to tackle chronic diseases, promote a healthier life, and lower healthcare costs by focusing on Prevention, Intervention, and Innovation.

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The Triple Solution for a Healthier America: Using Prevention to reduce chronic disease, promote a healthier life, and lower healthcare costs of diabetes and other chronic diseases The Triple Solution for a Healthier America: Using Intervention to better manage chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, promote a healthier life, and lower healthcare costs. The Triple Solution for a Healthier America: Using Innovation to reduce chronic disease and lower healthcare costs. Learn what you can do to reduce chronic disease, lower healthcare costs, and live a healthier life through personal, professional, and political involvement with the Triple Solution for a Healthier America.

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The Power of Innovation

Prevention and intervention will lower the cost of chronic diseases. But innovation plays an important role to reduce new cases and the rates of some chronic diseases—and their associated costs. Here are some examples:

  • The recent developments of vaccines to prevent cervical cancer are an exciting advance. It is a major step forward.
  • The Center for Value-Based Health Management helps employers, health plans, and benefits consultants to learn more about improving the health of their workforce while lowering overall healthcare costs. It also helps them design benefits by removing barriers to access, coordinating better patient care and focusing on prevention.

Many people have more than 1 chronic disease. New treatments that make it easier for patients to manage their health are essential.

Did you know?
Thanks to innovations since the 1980s, overall cancer survival rates have increased by 25%. Impressive progress, but we still have a long way to go to make that number even higher for patients and their families.3

Many chronic diseases can be managed more effectively. But there is a desperate need for improvement. Better treatments are vital to meet the needs of patients with diseases that have very few, if any, effective ways to treat them.

Alzheimer’s Disease is one of the best examples:

  • Today, Alzheimer's Disease costs more than $148 billion per year.1
  • New cases of Alzheimer's Disease are expected to triple or quadruple over the next 30 to 40 years.2
  • Close to 50 new medicines are in clinical development.
  • Available treatments are limited. No effective way to prevent Alzheimer’s Disease currently exists.

A number of research projects are now underway. These projects hold tremendous potential for a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s Disease. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease by just 5 years could cut the number of people who develop it in half.

The solution:
Vaccinations provide another glimpse into the importance of innovation. Advances go well beyond just the elimination of polio. And the protection they offer is not just important for children but for adults as well. Thanks to continued research, adult vaccines now protect against pneumonia, tetanus, diphtheria, whooping cough and Hepatitis A and B. And vaccines like those for flu offer a vital line of defense against the spread of disease during a pandemic.

Did you know?
One key to the success of any innovation is getting people to take advantage of it. For instance, if every American would get a flu shot each year we could save up to 36,000 lives and $87 billion.4

References:

  1. Alzheimer's Association. Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures 2007. Chicago: Alzheimer's Association, 2007. Available at http://www.alz.org/national/documents/Report_2007FactsAndFigures.pdf. Accessed April 10, 2007.
  2. Public Policy Review. Changing the Debate on Healthcare Costs in the US: The Triple Solution for Lower Cost, Better Quality Healthcare. Available at: http://us.gsk.com/docs-pdf/media-news/changing-the-debate-triple-solution.pdf. Accessed July 24, 2007.
  3. Cancer Facts and Figures 2007. American Cancer Society 2007. Available at www.cancer.org.
  4. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Seasonal Influenza Facts and Figures 2008. Available at http://www.www.cdc.gov/flu/about/qa/hospital.htm.