This week’s assignment was to watch
a documentary called US Health Care: The
Good News. The documentary highlighted the problems within the U.S. Health
Care System. Despite the United States being the richest and most
industrialized country, it still has not provided health care for all of its
citizens like other countries. The documentary focused on the Dartmouth Atlas
Project that sought to provide examples in various towns and places in the U.S.
like Seattle and Colorado that adapted practices within the medical system that
developed affordable and quality health care by using innovative techniques.
They found what worked in each of the towns and believed that these places
ultimately could be models for the U.S. Health Care System.
I believe access to health care
should be a right because everyone’s health is essential. In the country where
you live I think it is a community duty to provide health care to everyone in
that community. I do agree that, yes, people should be responsible for their
own health, but also that others should play a role in the health of those
people who are not qualified or as well versed and can’t provide that care for
themselves. It just seems wrong to neglect or deny others health care just
because they are poor or have some other inconvenience, especially because they
may actually need it the most. I just believe there should be some type of
balance within the system that lowers prices so that everyone has the same
opportunity for quality health care.
During the video, a variety of
towns were visited where the health care in those towns were not only
affordable, but quality. Grand Junction, Colorado was revered as a model for
the U.S. Health Care System. The town was one where it had 100,000 of the
lowest medical cost in the United States. I thought it was really interesting
how some of the doctors’ pay would be withheld until the end of the year and
depending on whether they performed well would determine if they received a
portion or all of that pay back. It takes some really dedicated doctors and
self-responsibility to be able to limit one’s personal gain for the betterment
of others. In addition to this, in Seattle, Washington, it was interesting how
the hospital was consumer owned. They were very innovative in using electronic
records instead of files which allowed patients to have more access to their
own medical records. In the town of Everett, Washington, they began to use
generic drugs to help cut down on overall costs. That was very important
because these drugs basically contained the same ingredients. Lastly, in
Hitchcock, Dartmouth, it was really innovative to allow the patients to be a
part of their treatment choices because, after all, they will be the ones
having to live with the surgeries and medications they undergo.
The medical care models in the
video could be duplicated in my neighborhood and town. I just think there just
needs to be the right people to initiate it and then diligent, dedicated
physicians to follow through with it. There are many reasons why it has not
happened yet. Perhaps physicians may want to continue earning the pay that they
currently make and don’t want to see a dive. In addition to that, there just
needs to be cooperation from all aspects. Getting many people to agree can be highly
difficult because everyone has different motives and agendas, personal or
otherwise.