Acute disease can be left to the hospitals, but creating health and healing of chronic disease seems to happen best in the community -- with people helping people where each one of us lives, where we eat, cook, learn, work, play and pray.

Making delegates believe their attendance at a conference will change the world -- and dashing off to do it as a result -- is surely the Holy Grail of conference organizers. Perhaps they should be looking to TED/TEDMED for clues to the formula.

The problem is actually that we're living longer, but the longevity is fueled by very expensive chronic diseases that were preventable. The dream of living a long, healthy life has been replaced by living a long, sick life.

This week, I have seen a potential future of the nation's health -- and heard from and interacted with some of the players that are trying to impact and improve it.

From April 10 to 13, Healthy Living editors join some of the most creative and innovative minds in the health and medical field for TEDMED 2012 at the...

Next week, 1,200 innovators, entrepreneurs, industry and government stakeholders, artists, and health care practitioners will attend the annual TEDMED conference in Washington, D.C.