Mount Pleasant Magazine July/August 2017

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feature
taught him one important fact about
the current battle over the future of
health care in this country: Nobody
really knows how it will turn out. He
is confident, however, that whatever
plan emerges needs to account for all
Americans who might require health
care services – now and in the future.
“The plan needs to have coverage
for everyone, regardless of chronic
diseases or
pre-existing
conditions,” he
said.
Speaking
of the future,
Downes sees
three major
trends in
health care: the
expansion of
telehealth, real-
time diagnostics
through an
ingestible
pill and an increase in surgeries in
outpatient clinics rather than in
hospitals.
Downes said telehealth will
expand access to primary care
physicians through smartphones
and other devices, but it will also
give patients immediate access to
specialists, possibly saving lives in
the process. For instance, he said
time is of the essence when a person
suffers a stroke, pointing out that
treatment within a two-hour window
is essential. Through telehealth, a
neurologist miles away can carry out
a quick exam and prescribe treatment
that can prevent long-term damage.
Real-time diagnostics gleaned
from a pill the patient swallows or
from a wrist band is still decades away,
Downes said, but the technology is on
the way.
And, on the business side of the
medical world, he predicted that
sometime soon, most surgeries will be
done in outpatient centers rather than
in hospitals. That’s not necessarily a
bad thing for hospitals, he said.
“Lots of elective surgeries are
already going outside the hospital,” he
explained. “So hospitals are investing
in ambulatory surgery centers, not
competing with them.”
He added that he sees another
trend in health care: Because they can
research various procedures on the
internet, patients know much more
than they once did. For instance,
patients who need a partial knee
replacement can learn all about
robotic surgery, then shop around for
surgeons who are experts in the field.
Downes pointed out that though
the future of the U.S. health care
system might be a bit cloudy right
now, medical care in the Mount
Pleasant area is on the right track:
East Cooper Medical Center has been
No. 1 in patient satisfaction among all
Tenet hospitals for 12 straight years.
“There are extraordinary surgeons
at this hospital. They’re fantastic,”
he said. “We pride ourselves on our
staff, doctors and nurses, and our
volunteers are important as well. First-
time visitors to the hospital get an
escort to wherever they need to go.”
“It’s a fun job. I really enjoy it,” he
added.
Downes and his wife, Ashley, live in
Mount Pleasant with their two young
daughters – Emily and Logan.
Where European chic
meets Southern style.b
East Cooper Medical Center CEO Patrick Downes talks with Tom Fowler,
who been a volunteer at the hospital for five years.