Change and Innovation in Health Services Delivery

INTRODUCTION The medical costs for individuals with chronic diseases account for seventy-five percent of the total health care costs in the country. In order to contain the cost of health care going forward, as well as address the access problems of many Americans, dealing with chronic diseases is critical. Health education programs designed to prevent high-risk health behaviors in individuals and communities is one way to address this daunting challenge. The answer to preventing these high-risk health behaviors lies in behavioral interventions, the focus of behavioral medicine. This type of medicine involves preventing or changing high-risk health behaviors so that chronic diseases do not develop.