Pushing For A Health System Overhaul
Article Source: HealthSnare.com
Ever wondered how it would be like if the medical system never charged for health care? In lieu of scattered and costly private doctors? offices, they work in community health centers, medical stores, to enable patients to get the adequate care they need in just one location. It would be ideal if doctors are only paid in salaries from the government like nurses. And because they embody a very small fraction of the neighborhood, they own only a marginal voice when it comes to operation of medical institutions. When health matters are being considered, only health workers and consumers have the final say.
Such is the idea of the greatest medical world that can be made possible, states the group of activists known as the health policy advisory group, who aspires for some serious medical system reforms. They are touted as the health movement's ministry of propaganda as well as the think tank. Whether or not the titles fit the bill, these radicals? dissident voices are progressively more heard.
Some say that it is quite idealistic to linger on the possibility of free health services and a consumer governed hospital system. Going for more funds is not the answer to that but a major system overhaul for this country's medical system will. The center staff is made of three city planners, a molecular biology expert, an anthropologist, a labor relations expert and a social worker and all of them hold office inside a cramped loft set in downtown Manhattan. All these workers for the center earn the same amount of money every week and they all have equal say on various matters.
All of them aim to make consumer groups and health worker join hands and fight for medical causes. This autonomous, not profit alliance spearheads informative campaigns on health financing and patients' rights through comprehensive talks and workshops. But then it is a 12 to 16 page magazine with hard hitting content that reveals the truth behind wrong ways done by many institutions that is still their top outlet.
There are other radical health groups, but they attribute the nation's health crisis to what they call the country's chaotic nonsystem of health care delivery. The system generates tons of problems because of their lack of focus on health care but more on profit, expansion and research. There are three facets to the medical care of the American health empire, as explained by the policy advisory center.
First in line are the medical centers, hospitals as well as the medical schools and universities. It is not the needy people who are able to benefit from this but the providers or the doctors only. The second priority is health care and it follows the first, which is education and research. We think it should be the other way around.
The second part of the health care system is the financing planning complex. An important role is played by most health insurance firms since they shoulder half of all the hospital income. These two companies are actually close allies, much to the dissent of people who believe that they ride herd on hospital's building and spending. For instance, a lot of the regional directors also double as hospital administrators. Since this hospital governed firm is so inept when it comes to securing costs and abiding by strict quality control practices, the group blames them for the hospital expenditures that have reached high heavens.
Thirdly, the medical system looks on the solidifying the medical industrial complex. The complex, when put in other words is the hidden alliance that exists between all the providers like doctors, medical learning institutions, hospitals, health centers, who share one thing in common, Benefiting from sick patients, drug manufacturing and distribution companies, hospital supply groups, health insurance corporations, testing laboratories and even nursing homes. Profit is the sole aim and the link that connects the profit oriented groups to the providers is extremely visible. Those who make up hospital board of directors are also drug company executives. Trust that many hospitals and hospital supply companies are owned partly by many doctors. You can see many employees of hospitals and medical schools sidelining as hospital supply companies' consultants.
People are asking if indeed the present medical system is as interlinked and organized as it claims to be, then how come it is very poor? Shedding light in this issue is the center, who states that health care is not the prime goal of the current medical system, but instead it is there serving its own ends such as education and research, real property expansion deals, financial holdings, and the bottom line, which is profits. The means to achieve these ends is health care. However, this is not the finality in itself.
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Olivia West
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Date: Sun, 4 Jul 2010 Time: 3:21 AM
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