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 The Problem with Healthcare Delivery
It is far too expensive; the wait is too long; and often, physicians seem rushed, spending negligible time with their patients, and reacting insensitively to the needs of those entrusted to their care. The biggest problem, however, is that doctors frequently cannot diagnose or treat a patient's illness, and use methods that do more harm than benefit.
Suppose you go to your doctor because you have been feeling tired. He does a physical exam and orders some seemingly high tech lab tests. The results are normal, and you are led to believe that there is nothing physically wrong. After all, modern medicine is very advanced, isn't it?
The healthcare system is far more primitive than it appears. Compared with the complexity of the human body, the practice of medicine is in the Stone Age. We have yet to cure the common cold, much less a whole host of other diseases. As for feeling tired, there are thousands of possible physical causes that modern physicians cannot diagnose or treat. Some such diseases are known only by a handful of experts, but many remain unknown. Biological warfare is an imminent threat for which we are unprepared.
Much of our lack of preparation stems from the inability of our current medical system to provide care for our entire population. We can deal with the threat of bioterrorism by taking away civil liberties and rights to privacy, or by fixing our healthcare system which would also solve a multitude of other problems.
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It's not the fault of doctors. The system is in terrible disarray.
The microorganism mycoplasma is one of a myriad of pathogens that can reside in the body undetected for years. It can disrupt biochemical functioning, leading to fatigue and other symptoms. Dr. Garth Nicholson is one of many researchers working on the detection and treatment of this and other diseases.
Dr. John Martin is investigating what he terms "stealth viruses."
Knowing these doctors first-hand, and having tested positive for both of these debilitating illnesses, my stake in this matter is highly personal.
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The System Could Be Drastically Improved:
A medical system that could diagnose and treat any illness is a distinct possibility, but contingent upon the restructuring of medical education. One of the most lamentable wastes of our natural resources is the mismanagement of our young people's minds.
Let's compare Microsoft with the medical system. The requirement to work at Microsoft is simply the ability to do one's job. The requirement to be a medical doctor, however, is to spend valuable years in an irrelevant, expensive, academic setting followed by several more years of incomplete training. After enduring more than a decade of this insanity, of course doctors will charge more money for their time.
It is not that doctors are intentionally taught to be uncompassionate; the medical educational system is intrinsically dehumanizing. If Microsoft operated like that - requiring it's employees to undergo over a decade of irrelevant training - the corporation would collapse.
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