Dr. Neil West to address the SaddleBrooke Free Thinkers

Harry Huizinga

Free Thinkers and all interested SaddleBrooke residents are cordially invited to a welcome back coffee social and speaker to follow. Coffee will be served 9:45 a.m. on Sunday, October 26 at the HOA 2 MountainView Ballroom. At 10:30 a.m. our speaker Dr. Neil West will discuss The Road to Increased Efficiency of Affordable Health Care in the 21st Century.

Dr. West has practiced over 35 years as a pediatrician and has worked extensively with many aspects of the U.S. Health Care system. He has served as a consultant to Medicare, Medicaid and insurance companies and has recently focused on quality pay for reform programs and building effective physician practices for improving efficiency, pharmaceutical ordering practices and protocols.

According to Dr. West, “There are amazing things happening to flatten the trajectory on health care costs and changing environment of groups. I will point out how those changes were stimulated by the Affordable HealthCare Act (ACA). If you look at Medicare 1965 to the present, it is a lot different than when it started. I will mention some of the things happening locally, like the merger of Banner and the University HealthCare Systems. The Wisconsin Collaborative is a marvelous experiment in improving healthcare for the entire state through shared data.”

Dr. West will also cover some of the remarkable decreases in cardiovascular diseases, heart attacks, stroke and heart failure over past 20 to 30 years through modern medical treatments. He will discuss the impact of improved public health progress and management of several diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. Dr. West plans to leave ample time for active Q and A with discussion in the spirit of the Free Thinkers.

The Free Thinkers usually meet on the fourth Sunday of each month. We are a group of SaddleBrooke residents who believe in responsible search for truth and meaning in the application of reason and science to the understanding of the universe and solving human problems. We have an outstanding series of speaker programs scheduled for future meetings. Contact our website for program information: www.sbfreethinkers.wordpress.com.