Notes from Former U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams Visit to Kelley

By Mani Selvaraj, MBA Class of 2023

I felt privileged and honored to listen to former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Adams on the 6^th of October, when he addressed the students in the life sciences program at the Kelley School of Business. The session, organized by Center for the Business of Life Sciences (CBLS) was very insightful and informative for all.

Dr. Adams’ thoughts about Preventive Health & Preventive Care are very relevant to the current healthcare situation in the US. As an international student, I do not have much knowledge about the US healthcare industry, but his knowledge and wisdom in the field made it simple for everyone to understand easily.

I was surprised to hear Dr. Adams say, “Healthcare is ranked second highest expense in the country, because in the US, the per capita spending for healthcare is $12,500, whereas in other OCED nations it is just $4,500”. Insurers are seeing that employers can no longer pay the high cost of insurance. Dr. Adams believes more changes will come as more and more businesses say “enough is enough”. Business will drive change by taking “triple aim” at delivering better care for better outcomes at a lower cost.

Also he stated that businesses are realizing the importance of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) by investing in products and policies that have a social impact because they cannot continue to be successful at the expense of the environment and people’s health.

After listening to him, I cannot agree more that preventive healthcare is the most important aspect, when we talk about effective and successful healthcare system. I say this because we can’t save money by keeping the people in the hospital beds, we can save money only by keeping them out of the hospital beds. ‘How to provide higher quality care at low costs?’ is another point to ponder, but I think preventive care can be the most effective answer for the question.

Dr. Adams also discussed the importance of social determinants of health, focusing on healthy communities by providing access to preventative care to all citizens.

Dr. Adams challenged students to have an understanding of health and economic decisions that they make by being informed. He also encouraged students to think about how they prioritize “be cognizant of what you enjoy doing, feed your soul.  Be intentional about opportunities that feed your soul.  Understand the kind of person you want to be.”

One undergraduate student considering a career in healthcare said of Dr. Adams’ talk “It provided me a lot of impactful insight about healthcare policy and allowed me to really think about what my future will look like”.

I strongly believe that students willing to pursue their career in the healthcare industry should listen more to experts like Dr. Adams. I enjoyed listening to him and I am looking forward to more sessions like this to further improve my knowledge in healthcare. For more details see Dr. Adams talk he delivered How resilient communities can create a healthier country- and world on TedEx

*For more information about student opportunities with the Kelley Center for the Business of Life Sciences see the center’s website.