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Health Care Reform:
Attacking the Root Problems
We have a severe problem with health
care delivery. Although there has been an enormous
struggle to discover a solution, answers have not been found, largely
because people have been looking in the wrong places.
If we reexamined the antiquated educational requirements
currently needed to practice medicine, we could have a plentiful supply of creative, compassionate, and
reasonably priced physicians. PPO's,
socialized medicine, rationing treatment, or legalistic approaches
have not worked because they have
not addressed the fundamental obstacle. We have gone in
circles with these kinds of proposals and made virtually no progress.
However, once the root cause of
the current medical system's ineffectiveness is thoroughly examined, the
outlook for the future becomes extremely favorable. The real
issue is not money, but rather our mindset. Since our society
appears to be stymied, it follows that some fundamental assumptions
about the way our systems are organized must be questioned. We
tend to hold to certain beliefs very rigidly, and dismiss new ideas that
contradict them impulsively. |
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Most Pre-Medical Education
is
Irrelevant. The M.D. degree requires twelve years of higher
education, most of which has little value to the future practicing
physician. In many schools, the educational pattern is
memorize, pass the test, and forget. The pressures encountered by
medical students are mentally damaging, and waste many valuable years.
By the time the doctor graduates, he has forgotten most of what he has
learned.
Patient Centered Learning:
The solution
is to permit alternatives to rigid institutions, utilize free internet
programs, and have medical students assist practicing physicians
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by assisting practicing physicians in
taking patient histories. These students would offer
valuable, free services to doctors.
At the same time, they would have a vivid
learning experience by spending several hours each day interacting with
actual patients.
The Cost Of Medical Education
Would Be Negligible. The expense of healthcare is directly
proportional to the cost of the doctor's education. With the
institutional bottleneck gone, there would be a greater number of
doctors, and the cost of healthcare would plummet. Doctors would
have ample time to devote to their patients, keep abreast of new
developments, and conduct research. This equates to more time and
care per patient at a lower cost.
A new medical school that follows this model may be seen
at www.emedschool.org.
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