In healthcare we are good at rescuing people after they have become ill. But what if we took more notice of the things that make us sick in the first place? These are the "upstream factors". In fact we invest a lot in rescue care, but only 1% of that is to prevent us getting sick.
Rishi Manchanda has worked as a doctor in South Central Los Angeles for a decade, where he’s come to realize: His job isn’t just about treating a patient’s symptoms, but about getting to the root cause of what is making them ill—the “upstream" factors like a poor diet, a stressful job, a lack of fresh air. It’s a powerful call for doctors to pay attention to a patient's life outside the exam room.