America's Health Care System Is Broken: What Went Wrong and How We Can Fix It. Part 6: Social Factors

Although previous articles in the series have focused on the key players in our health care system, even larger factors that impact the cost and outcome of the nation's health lie in areas that are not traditionally thought of as "health care." Diet and exercise play a huge role in longevity and well-being. The best health care systems are unable to do much to lower deaths from firearms and motor vehicle crashes. Changing our focus from health care institutions to how to better support patients in the community will both lower cost and improve satisfaction. We need to learn how to better integrate patients' wishes into end-of-life care to provide more humanistic as well as less expensive care.