If doctors=firefighters, where are the urban planners for health-sector?
Hi,
I am new to this forum and it has been fun to go through the other discussions.
With the ongoing covid scenario, I have been thinking on how the health care system seems incomplete.
On a high level, the health care system needs patients to function as an engine, to fund more research, etc., however, overall as a society the best situation is when we have no patients/diseases/ailments.
Don't get me wrong, doctors are very essential and I doubt we would reach a day with no diseases since evolution is always at work. Having said that, an efficient system/society should try to prevent than cure. I seem to find a gap to achieve this or a profession which aims for this. Would like to hear more from others here.
Thanks
I am new to this forum and it has been fun to go through the other discussions.
With the ongoing covid scenario, I have been thinking on how the health care system seems incomplete.
On a high level, the health care system needs patients to function as an engine, to fund more research, etc., however, overall as a society the best situation is when we have no patients/diseases/ailments.
Don't get me wrong, doctors are very essential and I doubt we would reach a day with no diseases since evolution is always at work. Having said that, an efficient system/society should try to prevent than cure. I seem to find a gap to achieve this or a profession which aims for this. Would like to hear more from others here.
Thanks
Comments (5)
I'm a medical student in a third world country and I think about what you're asking a lot. The disease burden of preventable diseases is huge and ever increasing. Cardiovascular diseas, obesity related diseases and diabetes account for over 50% of mortality in most countries. I don't have an answer but I think the question you ask is on the right track.
The fragmented American health care system is both empowered (medical entrepreneurs) and limited by the laissez faire (hands off) economics of our "free market" government. Hybrid Market-Socialist nations tend to have more top-down control over the functions & operations of the nationwide health & insurance systems. But I haven't seen a study to determine how effective they are in dealing with national emergencies like the current crisis. The article linked below says that the Obama administration had a "Pandemic Game Plan" that was canceled by the new Trump administration. That's fragmented us-vs-them politics for you. :lol:
Pandemic Game Plan : https://khn.org/news/evidence-shows-obama-team-left-a-pandemic-game-plan-for-trump-administration/
Yeah, I was wondering the same. And not just the current crisis, but prevention vs cure of other long-standing health disorder. Say obesity as an example, it is well understood since quite some time that it is increasing and is harmful and junk food is a major cause. Yet there is an obvious gap in governance to acknowledge this (be it top-down or bottom-up or the varied kinds of all countries).
It just seems like till that gap is filled, everyone needs to educate themselves on 'ideal' nutrition/lifestyle and not become local collateral damage for the long term development/evolution of health sector.