Vacation has begun. I've made my way home and am experiencing the beauty of spare time so far different from the busy days of lectures, clinical interlude, preceptorship, and general day-to-day activities of a medical student.There is so much I want to do-- all those things I've been telling myself I will accomplish once I have the time: cooking, mastering Punjabi (the language my parent's speak), cooking (which I have begun), running, reading, writing, traveling, etc. Everything just seems so attractive when you are in school.
Now that I have the time, I find sitting around and doing nothing even more attractive.
There is a novelty to relaxing (or as my little brother says, "chillaxing"). It's the best feeling. What concerns me is that these days are numbered. Vacations become more and more rare as you get older and starting working in the real world.
Today was spent so far from the real world. A nice shopping trip that culminated with my first (and a momentous) visit to a local IKEA. What a world! And to think I have missed out on this splendid collection of interior decor with unpronounceable Swedish names when I was furnishing my small apartment in San Francisco.I know now where I will be buying future furniture. What I find to be most odd (and really wonderful) is that IKEA also sells food. My siblings really savored the ooey-gooey Cinnamon rolls that pack a whooping 400 calories per roll.
Speaking of health, I finally got to watch Michael Moore's Critically acclaimed "Sicko," a documentary that critically examines the deteriorating American health care system.
He leaves no stone unturned when criticizing a system that has left over 40 million Americans uninsured. He delves into the corrupt profit-generating HMOs, who will go through great lengths to deny any patient that would be a high cost to the company. He exposes government officials and highlights inherent fallacies in our approach to taking care of the sick.He raises some good points. Interestingly, Americans spends one of the highest amounts on health care and yet we rank so low (just above Slovenia). In addition, he compares the US health care system to that of socialized systems, such as the NHS in Great Britain and the systems in Canada, France, and Cuba. At all these places, healthcare is essentially FREE!
Ironically, he closes the movie by taking 9/11 Rescue workers out of the United States to seek health care since they were denied services in the US. And of all places he chooses, he goes to Cuba: first to Guantanamo Bay and then to a hospital on the island.
I am saddened by the central message Moore delivers. How sick are we? And why are so many people denied a fundamental right?
The American health care system appears to be in shambles. We seem to be patching up a hemorrhaging system that really may need to be completely reconstructed from the base. How we go about this- I wonder? Should we move to a socialized (government-run) health care system? A completely privatized system?A hybrid system of sorts?
I do not have the answer and neither does Michael Moore. If you do, please post a comment; I am interested in learning.
I just know this will not be the last time this issue will appear in my blog. I am curious to learn about ways to solve our problems. I'll report back once I can get the facts. For now, I recommend watching the film "Sicko" to anyone curious to learn about how bad the health care system really is.
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12 comments:
Ah! I haven't gotten the chance to see the movie, "Sicko," but I'll comment what little I know.
I'm so glad that Michael Moore is bringing up this issue of healthcare because it's, obviously, a huge problem right now. I think the movie is a wonderful way to stimulate discussion on the subject. However, by no means is it an objective analysis of the subject (And, not having personally seen the movie I can't comment if Moore portrays it as such).
I've spoken with several people who have had a horrible personal experience with the healthcare system in Canada - including having their relatives die while being on long waitlists for specialists. Furthermore, I doubt we can expect the same treatment given to the US citizens accompanied by a film crew to receive the same treatment that an average Cuban citizen would.
That said - I'll echo what your statement: I don't have the answer. But, I look forward to a logical and realistic discussion of the subject amongst doctors (and future doctors). I think physicians, and healthcare providers, should be making these decisions. I don't know many physicians who don't feel healthcare isn't a human right and don't want to provide it to everyone they can.
So our presidential candidates jump on this hot topic and propose "universal healthcare for everyone!" But, is this realistic at this point? I see a lot of talk from politicians, and a lot of insurance companies and drug makers squirming in their chairs. A government-run universal system seems great, but perhaps only in theory. Take a loook at the DMV and tell me how efficiently our government is working.
But, clearly, there's a problem leaving the system to privatized CEO's, who are great at business, but poor at caring for patients.
One interviewer proposed that we start by cutting the cost of mal-practice suits against doctors and make medical school more affordable so physicians - as producing physicians with less debt might promote more practice is underserved areas. Thoughts?
Such an awesome topic...I'd love to hear more of your thoughts.
Wow, Neal (I am beginning to see a budding blogger)!
These are some great points. I definitely agree that the movie was by no means objective, so we have to use a grain of salt when we analyze the facts of the film.
Nontheless, I think it opens Pandora's Box and creates a dialogue about healthcare-- a discussion (actually a debate) that has flooded the election campaign (with no clear explanation of "universalized health care.")
I do think cuting mal-practice and making medical education more affordable as a first step.
Thanks for your insightful comments!
EZ
Thanks for blogging on this tremendous topic.
I just posted some general comments on this topic on my blog: http://epistemocrat.blogspot.com/
Healthcare system reform is complex. I have studied "Sicko" and the comments/reflections on it extensively, and I encourage healthcare leaders to think with more sophistication than Michael Moore does. He brings the topic to the public (which is important), but our health delivery system needs more innovative solutions than simply copying other nations' healthcare systems - they don't all have it as good as it may seem. Although there is a lot of work to do, the US has the potential to serve as global leaders in healthcare systems reform, and openness to new ideas and approaches is necessary for finding real, practical solutions that work.
I have many ideas on this topic, and here is one: refocus our healthcare system on primary care and the doctor-patient relationship. Prevention is the greatest tool that we have in medicine, but we do not practice proactive medicine nearly enough. Thus, we must turn our healthcare system upside down in this respect and integrate a more holistic view of people's health through enhanced primary care practices.
These types of discussions are exactly what we need, and I look forward to reading everyone's thoughts and ideas.
Hello,
I am a Canadian medical student and I did an elective at UCSF this summer. Since then I have been reading these Synapse blogs and this is the first time that I have been moved to post a comment. Here are my two cents on your healthcare system (and mine) - I do not mean to sound callous, but I have some strong feelings. From my experiences, the American healthcare system does not exist to help people - it is a money making machine. Insurance companies are there to profit, bottom line, no questions asked. They do not give any care for patients, their health, or their wellbeing. Most doctors are primarily interested in their patient's health, but at the same time, I have never heard so much nonsense talk about money, salaries, lawsuits, insurance, and money again coming out of the mouths of physicians as I did this summer from American doctors. Canada is by no means perfect. However, there is a different sentiment altogether. You can walk into any clinic or hospital and the pervasive message is that of helping the sick, not how one is going to pay for their healthcare or how much a treatment will cost. When I arrived at UCSF this summer I was capable of performing a history and physical exam, but not of including insurance plans as part of the management. It is disgusting that in the United States, a country that is supposed to be so rich and powerful, its own citizens are denied healthcare because they cannot afford it. Therein lies the truth that healthcare is not a right for Americans - it is a privlege that many are not afforded. You claim that wait times are horrible in Canada. Well let me tell you that if you need help urgently you will get it. If you need an MRI that is not urgent, well yes, you may have to wait for it. You cannot possibly compare that to the poverty that is the American healthcare system. On a slightly unrelated point, I have a certain skepticism about medicine in general in the United States. You boast institutions like Harvard and UCSF but at the same time the system allows students to attend overseas medical schools in the Caribbean and come back and practice in the States. What kind of standard of care is this? I am sorry this is so harsh, but I am sickened by the American healthcare system. I was so happy to return to Canada. There are 16 medical schools in the entire country and they are all amazing. Our doctors are incredibly well paid and well respected, but at the same time we respect humanity and stay away from the GREED that defines American healthcare.
Something I mentioned in my post is that the Canadian healthcare system is not perfect. However, what Dr. David Gratzer has done here is cited case examples of unfortunate incidents, and in so doing provided a completely skewed view of an amazing health care system. Why is it amazing? Because it contains health care providers who care more about their patients than money, because citizens of Canada know that doctors care about them, not whether they can afford medical care, and because it works. Yes, there are wait times. However, like I said before, if a person needs a treatment urgently, they will receive it. We don't do MRIs for fun on rich people who want them, as is done in America. The article also made Canadian care sound substandard and this is bullshit. We follow the same standards of care for treatment that other countries like the United States do - we publish in the same journals, read the same journals, and follow the same protocols. Canadian hospitals are dirty? I'm sorry, but I was born and raised in this country and over the past 20 some years I have been to many hospitals whether it has been for myself or for others. The hospitals are clean and beautiful and contain state of the art equipment. The only hospital I've been to in the States was Moffit-Long at UCSF and rest assured that every Canadian hospital I've ever been to has been the same or cleaner than that one. Dr. David Gratzer is looking for reasons to complain about Canadian health care. On the whole, this system is far superior to that of America's. People are taken care of and they are taken care of WELL. People know they are cared for and we have evaded American greed. I encourage you to experience Canadian healthcare and you will see the underlying differences that I am speaking of. Maybe you have to experience both to know the difference.
On another side note, I was closely following the American election but I have stopped because it has disheartened me. If a Republican is elected, war will go on. My thoughts are so anti-war that the notion of your war makes my blood boil. On the Democratic front, if anyone other than Obama wins, war will go on. (CLINTON IS NOT ANTI-WAR - SITTING ON THE FENCE DOES NOT COUNT AS ANTI-WAR). Your whole country is so infatuated with this goddamn war that nothing will happen until you resolve this issue. Healthcare reform will not happen until you pull your head out of the sand and voters start being intelligent - that starts with ending the war. Secondly, American ideals are so entrenched in money, money, and more money that I do not understand how you can embrace something compassionate and humane like socialized medicine.
PS I used to like America but find it hard to care for a country where voters elect Bush for multiple terms - it is your own fault.
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