Our current health care system is ailing.
Satisfaction among patients as well as health care
providers is as low as it has ever been. Even in the era of
doctors making house calls, people had confidence in their
doctor, who, back then, represented the health care system.
Confidence was based on trust, that the doctor was offering
the best treatment and advances possible. Today, patient
trust is dwindling.
Yet, there is still a great deal of trust in doctors and
nurses. In a recent poll, the professions that were most
greatly admired and respected by the public, second to
firemen, were doctors and nurses. Lack of confidence stems
not from the health providers themselves, but from the
system that the doctors and nurses work for.
Let's examine some potential areas eroding public
confidence in our health care system:
1.) Speed: Our system has always moved quickly, but the
current pace is nothing short of phrenetic. Oh yes, a
doctor or nurse could move slower, but the price would be
at the expense of patients who would not be seen or cared
for that day. Quietly, health providers talk about feeling
like they are part of a "conveyor belt" that treats
paperwork more than it does people. Indeed, the amount of
paperwork has increased exponentially and the "system"
doesn't show any signs of slowing down. Insurance
companies, particularly managed care, have heavily
contributed to this additional layer of bureaucracy taking
time away from patient care. At the risk of offending
managed care companies, this is the truth. Managed care was
originally designed to contain costs. But the impact on
care of patients is one that has yet to be determined.
2.) Commercialization of health care: TV, radio and
internet commercials ...erode public confidence. Patients
regularly verbalize an overwhelmed and distorted image of
the role of medication from media commercials. This is not
the patient's fault! And it works both ways, commercials
can be suggestive, or implant resistance in patients who
might genuinely benefit from a trial of medication.
Patient's decisions are influenced by marketing, rather
than medical facts, and that just doesn't make good
clinical sense.
3.) "Pill popping society" stems in part from
commercialization but also from a stressed society looking
for ways to make it easier to cope
4.) Conventional health care has yet to accept natural
modalities as part of its treatment regimens. Yet, public
opinion on this matter is very evident. Annual spending on
Complementary/Alternative modalities exceeds 100 billion
dollars per year. Yet, a large reason for this lack of
integration into conventional health care remains lack of
scientific research. Without large funding sources like
pharmaceutical companies, natural treatments have been left
largely to a word of mouth market. And the word has spread
like wildfire. And most often from people with chronic
health challenges whose health has been restored. Yet why
haven't these potentially life-saving remedies been
studied? In fact, for many health providers in conventional
medicine, caring for people suffering with these chronic
health challenges, it is heart wrenching not to be able to
offer people more hope.
5.) The U.S. Health care system is rated 37th in the world
according to the World Health Organization. Clearly these
dismal results becry the need for health care solutions and
transformation for the sake of our people.
Health: not simply the eradication of disease but the
concept of healing, restoration and rejuvenation,
particularly for those with chronic health conditions.
Included in this is the incorporation of preventative
health care into mainstream medicine.
Transformation of health care = Hope for all
Copyright Citizens for Health Reform 2007
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Citizens for Health Reform is a grassroots health
empowerment initiative promoting patient centered
strategies that integrate natural health into mainstream
medicine. Data from a FREE ONLINE HEALTH SURVEY will
educate legislators and the public at large. Please visit:
http://www.citizensforhealthreform.com
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