Healthcare infrastructure systems and development

Healthcare Infrastructure Memorandum

United States Surgeon General

Pediatric Doctors of America

Policy Change Memo

This memo is an attempt to gather your support in our efforts to change the existing policy regarding the funding of preventative screening programs for heart disease in adolescents. Your office currently concurs and supports the pay structure where preventative screening programs for heart disease are fully funded by the patient or personal insurance as well as your being totally against the programs being funded by Medicare or Medicaid. This would be fine if every child in America had personal insurance. However, as you are well aware, there are just too many Americans without basic health insurance. The American public has been seeing an escalated number of cases of adolescent Heart Disease and we therefore request you reconsider your position.

There is currently enough evidence to predict adults who may potentially get hypercholesterolemia and other heart conditions based on high cholesterol levels those adults had during childhood. Your office currently does not support the notion of adolescent preventative screening however it is our opinion that the guidelines supported by your office show that these predictions can not be made. We feel that the foundation of your rejecting preventative screening is founded on flawed clinical trails. These inaccurate details undermine the evidence supporting our findings.

Based on the medical proof that shows there is a high level of benefit associated with early intervention for hypercholesterolemia in children supports that preventative screening is necessary. There is new evidence that atherosclerosis found in children who have passed away from heart disease or hypercholesterolemia also demonstrated very high levels of cholesterol in addition to their coronary heart disease. Our nation's dietary habits as well as the exercise habits could be more easily changed if and when a screening shows high levels of cholesterol in childhood as opposed to the same diagnosis being made for an adult. Thus, without the screening, the child's condition will most likely go undiagnosed and therefore untreated. Early detection through preventative screenings will help children have and live healthier lifestyles as well as positively impact their adult health.