HAPPINESS may well be the most important "health factor" in one’s life, according to Dr Hunter "Patch" Adams (pic)

"The most revolutionary act one can commit in our world is to be happy," says Adams, who has devoted 30 years to changing America’s healthcare system which he describes as expensive and elitist.

As a medical doctor, clown, performer and social activist, Adams is truly passionate about health and mental health issues.

He loves exploring the relationship between humour and therapy, using his unique blend of knowledge, showmanship and hands-on teaching techniques.

Indeed, for him, happiness and humour are integral for one’s wellness.

"I interpret my experience in life as being happy. I want, as a doctor, to say it does matter to your health to be happy. It may be the most important health factor in your life," said Adams, a well-known speaker on wellness, laughter, humour, health care and the health care system.

Adams will be among four speakers at the Live and Inspire conference to be held here at the  Sunway Convention Centre, Petaling Jaya on Oct 24 and 25.

As the founder and director of the Gesundheit Institute – a holistic medical community in West Virginia in the United States, Adams believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process and therefore, true healthcare must incorporate those aspects of life.

The institute began when a group of 20 friends, including three doctors moved into a six-bedroom house and called it a free hospital in 1971. They, however, stopped seeing patients in 1983 to devote full time to fund-raising for the hospital, by expanding out into the world. "These 12 years provided proof of concept, and since 1983 our institute has been working to raise funding for a full-scale model of healthcare based on compassion and service," said Adams in his blog.

"The movie Patch Adams was one such effort; in the meantime, we’ve developed educational programmes, global outreach and humanitarian clowning to promote compassion in healing," he said. Through the fund-raising efforts, the institute plans to build a 40-bed rural community hospital.

At the institute, doctors and patients work on the basis of mutual trust, and patients benefit by receiving plenty of time and attention from their doctors.

Doctors who practice allopathy – a method of treating disease with remedies that produce effects different from those caused by the disease itself – as well as practitioners of alternative medicine also work at the institute.

The institute addresses, by action, four major issues in healthcare delivery: the rising cost of care, dehumanisation of medicine, malpractice suits, and the abuse of third-party insurance system.

Referring to the institute as their pilot project, Adams and his team have seen 15,000 patients over the past 12 years and this experience has led Adams to devote his life to the study of what makes people happy.

In his blog, Adams said he used his free time to study the history of healthcare delivery around the world and to look at contemporary models with the idea of creating an ideal model that would address all the problems of the way care is delivered.

For details, visit http://liveandinspire.com