Lessons Learned

1. A health system consists of health care and medical care.
2. Health care is healthy lifestyles, public health and other means to prevent disease, injury and disability so as to achieve the best health status possible for a community and every individual in the community.
3. Medical care is the diagnosis and treatment of illness, disease, injury and disability, one person at a time.
4. It is better to be fit and well than sick and injured.
5. The greatest and most valuable contribution to a long and productive life is good health.
6. Lifestyle is everything that transpires each day in a person's life and daily life is the greatest influence upon health status.
7. It is possible to alter daily life with knowledge, determination and consistent effort but most people need assistance to do so.
8. There are many forms of assistance but the most important are moral, group and community support.
9. The best health status possible cannot be achieved easily, if at all, by treating illness, disease, injury and disability, it is best to avoid them, if at all possible.
10. If an effort called health care reform serves only, or mainly, to increase what transpired in the past, it will not improve health status or contain cost.