The First 100 Days of a Healthier You

Like every president, America’s new commander in chief will implement a strategy to achieve the administration’s goals over the next four years. Many objectives laid out by the President will be accomplished during his first 100 days in office, a period of time which traditionally commences on Inauguration Day, January 20th.

If you are one of many Americans who made wellness your New Year’s resolution, the chances of reaching your goal is greater if you follow a strategy. Using the beginning of a president’s first term in office as a blueprint, think about developing a 100-day plan focused on health care. Doing so will undoubtedly give you a better opportunity to succeed.

As you begin drafting a 100-day plan for yourself, here are four pieces of advice you should keep in mind:

• 1. Select a [medicine] cabinet. To maintain the best wellness program, surround yourself with reputable experts from each field. These experts, depending on your age and insurance plan, should include a physician, dentist, dermatologist, eye doctor, personal trainer, and various specialists. If you don’t know a professional in a specific field or are unsure of their credentials, reach out to a friend for a reference or use the Internet as a research tool for locating experts in your area and reading reviews.
• 2. Know your [health] policy. The reality is many health-related choices are influenced by your insurance policy. During the next 100 days, review your policy to identify which services are covered by your insurance, the amount you’re required to pay for each covered service, and your yearly deductible. Being knowledgeable about your insurance policy will allow you to become more efficient and, in a worst-case scenario, equip you with the information you need to make a quick decision.
• 3. Look back before you look forward. If you want a full understanding of your health, it’s essential to conduct a personal audit of your health care history. Starting a few years back, calculate how many times you visited a doctor, which services you primarily used, and how much money you spent out-of-pocket. Having this knowledge in your back pocket could help you budget for the upcoming year.
• 4. Take an Oath. Pledge to hold yourself accountable during the next 100 days to achieve the above objectives. It’s important to select a group of family and friends willing to perform the same task. Similar to a New Year’s resolution, staying on track for the next 100 days can be a tenuous process if you aren’t surrounded by people encouraging and reminding you of the goal you set out to achieve.

If you apply these objectives to your plan, it’s highly possible you will find yourself passing through 2017 with a clean bill of health.

Mark Kishel, M.D., FAAP is Regional Vice President and Senior Clinical Officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia and a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics