For much of the last century, modern medicine has invested in the treatment of diseases and illnesses, and very little on the prevention of these diseases.
Part of this is due to the invention of antibiotics and disease fighting medicines that had never been available before. This ability to identify the illness and prescribe a solution to said illness was found to be much easier and much more effective than planning for and preventing diseases. The reason for this is because of the many variables involved. With prevention you are trying to identify the root cause of a problem and identify a plan for preventing it. This was thought to be much more expensive than simply identifying the problem and treating it.
Healthcare Simulation
With recent advances in healthcare simulation we are finding that this is not always the case. Take for example cardiovascular disease, the number 1 worldwide killer of men and women according to the Mayo Clinic. With a simple simulation model, similar to the one that can be viewed here, we can quickly identify the enormous cost of treating this disease, as well as identify those most vulnerable.
By lowering the costs of prevention, healthcare simulation is playing a vital role in our understanding and prevention of diseases.
To learn more about this topic visit our white paper page on healthcare simulation.
