Have you ever felt powerless in your healthcare experience? Sitting in a light blue, open-backed robe in a doctor’s office may seem like the most empowering spot to be, however, you do have an important role to play in your personal healthcare. This is the issue at heart: to learn how to treat your healthcare like a CEO treats a business: with a vision, measured results, and with a passion to see a healthy return on investment. Americans spend a lot of money on healthcare each year. They also spend a lot of time: scheduling appointments, sitting in waiting rooms, time away from work, etc. Health “consumers” need keys to more effectively utilize the health care system.

The word “patient” is a complicated one. It is a name given to people who are in need of help and therefore it creates a sort of passive role for the person given that title. As a result, patients often end up feeling like victims. This article suggests that patients look at themselves as the CEO of a company whose sole purpose is their personal good health.

Over 280,000 Americans die each year from diseases linked to excess weight. Further, Dr. Mark Hyman said in a recent Huffington Post blog that industrialized food (otherwise known as junk food) has addictive properties. Read here for ideas on what we can do to address this growing problem.

My first post on Personal Accountability will be about ways we can help others. How does helping others translate into "personal" accountability? Nearly every religion on this planet includes some proverb or prescription about feeding the poor or helping those in need. If you ask me, it's a very endearing characteristic of humans - the ability to look beyond our own needs and help others who may not survive otherwise.

What can we do as the bureaucrats duke out the details of health care reform? Maybe Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey, had it right. It's time for personal accountability.