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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 |
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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