Research
Sources
http://compbio.ucdenver.edu/Hunter_lab/Phang/resources/Teaching/BIOS6660/CS-4-ClinicalInfo/Brill-2013.pdf
https://www.jabfm.org/content/jabfp/26/3/327.full.pdf
Stats, facts, etc.
A. Here you can find a short summary of how much is spent in healthcare per year in comparison to what
other countries pay and where each percentage is coming out your own pocket, your insurance's, and anyone
else in association.
"We’re likely to spend $2.8 trillion this year on health care. That $2.8 trillion is likely to be $750
billion, or 27%, more than we would spend if we spent the same per capita as other developed
countries, even after adjusting for the relatively high per capita income in the U.S. vs. those other
countries. Of the total $2.8 trillion that will be spent on health care, about $800 billion will be paid
by the federal government through the Medicare insurance program for the disabled and those
65 and older and the Medicaid program, which provides care for the poor. That $800 billion,
which keeps rising far faster than inflation and the gross domestic product, is what’s driving the
federal deficit. The other $2 trillion will be paid mostly by private health-insurance companies
and individuals who have no insurance or who will pay some portion of the bills covered by their
insurance. This is what’s increasingly burdening businesses that pay for their employees’ health
insurance and forcing individuals to pay so much in out-of-pocket expenses"- (Brill)
B. We've all seen commercials targeting consumers for prescriptions directly to us, but why? In an ethics feature, this article discusses most notably prescription drug coverage.
And... of course all those commercials have happy people.
"This shift in industry pharmaceutical promotion
also notably includes the rapid rise in the use of
direct-to-consumer advertising" (DTCA).
Personal
1. How does this directly affect me?
As a student going into the medical field, the way society has grown an interest on making a profit from pharmaceuticals and other methods of healthcare, this will directly affect the way I conduct my practice because of the constant pushing from other forms of healthcare providers and politics that will try to interfere with my methods of issuing healthcare. Personally, I first got the idea in my head that I wanted enter the medical field but I wanted to make a difference by introducing healing techniques that didn't involve pushing medications to heal the body, so I chose the profession of Physical Therapist. I view this profession as a step towards the right direction, to find solutions for patients to relieve their pain and aide in their rehabilitation in a therapeutic manner. I relate closely to the issue of healthcare and the promotion of pharmaceuticals as is discussed in one of the cited articles.
I first encountered the issue of healthcare that directly affected me, by someone very close to me. This person was diagnosed with Lupus and was facing the issue of constantly being prescribed medication for her symptoms and her constant pain that came with her diagnosis. She expressed her despair with her doctors not listening to her concerns of constantly taking medication and it doing no good for her body, however, she never felt that the doctors really listened to her, but kept pushing these medications. This is where my frustrations with the healthcare industry come in. As this world becomes more centralized on profit, so has healthcare, even when it comes to patients well-being. In fact many patients are affected by this issue of being prescribed something that makes them much worse than what their initial diagnosis was. I've had patients myself that were prescribed by their doctors actual procedures/surgeries that were not necessarily needed but were pushed because it would be an additional charge to their healthcare, so there are many ways that the healthcare industry as a whole are corrupt because of profit.
2. Why did I choose this issue?
I chose this issue because as I've learned more of the career I'm pursuing by education and work experience,
the more I've realized that a lot of patient care is impersonal and is more in the interests of making
money for companies in association such as health care. Healthcare is such a nation wide crisis that I
wanted to research ways that health care is unfair to the people and especially the working class. As I've
researched I've learned that there are many more issues in healthcare than I first thought. Corruption has
traveled down through every aspect, where lack of healthcare for millions of Americans are just one of
them. Thats why I chose this issue, because although I cannot solve every aspect of this issue, I can do
my part as a healthcare professional and inform my patients of what the best healthcare route to take.
People Affected (Time Magazine - Steven Brill)
Sean - 42 years old
Diagnosis: nonHodgkin’s lymphoma
Total cost for his treatment plan: $83,900
Although the amount for his treatment plan may seem to be the norm, the norm has been proven to be considerably above the cost of production and services, and in. fact for Sean Recchi, the total in his charges in a nonprofit association had a markup of 400% (Brill 3).
Janice S. - 64 years old
Diagnosis: Indigestion
Total cost for her treatment plan: $21,000. (for a false alarm)
This patient was just one year away from being elegible for medicare but still she was given a bill that, like the patient Sean Recchi, was considerably marked up than what it's goods and services actually cost.
No comments:
Post a Comment