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The
Problem with Healthcare Delivery
Shaun
Kerry, M.D.
Diplomate,
American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology
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. |
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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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