07/10/2024
The Death of Modern Medicine
The state of healthcare in America has become nothing short of abysmal. Although the dangers of certain diagnostic and treatment procedures have become known to at least some of those living in our country, many are uninformed and therefore rely strictly upon the advice of their physicians. It would be an entirely different story if these individuals would perhaps take the time to do some basic research. However, this typically does not happen, and patients fall prey to an industry that, in the interest of becoming more profitable, will oftentimes peddle procedures that are unnecessary or even ill-advised. However, this article is not about medical diagnostic or treatment protocols. It is about a healthcare industry that has run amok, focusing on the bottom line more than on the best interests of its patients.
Many of today’s big name healthcare organizations pride themselves on the quality of care they purportedly deliver. Yet, as many quickly discover, this cannot be farther from reality. When I was a child, my family doctor spent considerable time truly endeavoring to understand my needs and those of my siblings. Patients could call his office phone anytime and he would answer it himself. He would make house calls and even attend special family events. He would not waste a moment getting test results to us so that we could stay informed. However, today’s medical model is as far from this type of care as the earth is from Neptune. Patients can wait for months just to get in to see a doctor, and oftentimes, after a lengthy wait, may be “fortunate enough” to wind up seeing a nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant instead. Diagnostic procedures are often severely delayed, partly due to insurance companies dragging their feet, but also because of inefficient healthcare administration and overburdened resources. This is only exacerbated by an oftentimes inordinate wait to receive test results. Lengthy medical review protocols, while deemed perfectly acceptable within the industry, are impractical and woefully inadequate for delivering reasonable and timely patient care. This mindset frequently leads to a failure in identifying critical health care needs and acting upon them. It is difficult nowadays for patients to reach their doctor’s office staff, much less to speak directly with their doctor. Connecting with a live person by phone, which may not even be possible in some cases, requires navigating through a veritable gauntlet of voice prompts and spending an enormous amount of time on hold. Many medical organizations do not offer alternative electronic means by which to send a message directly to a doctor or even to his or her staff, for those who do not have time to wait on hold. In many cases, they only reach an overseas operator ill-trained in the English language. Thus, physicians and office staff are completely insulated from direct patient communication by telephone, email, or messaging for the purpose of sustaining an inordinately large patient load while maximizing expediency and profitability for the organization. This creates an impenetrable wall - a gauntlet - between the patient and his or her physician. Patients wind up suffering the consequences every time, with little to no responsibility on the part of their healthcare provider.
The reason for this paradigm shift in healthcare is due to what I call “assembly-line medicine.” It is a phenomenon. It is a result of patient loads that are unreasonably large, making it virtually impossible for a doctor to learn enough about the unique aspects of any patient’s medical profile to appropriately meet their individual healthcare needs. There is simply not enough time to spend with a patient to accomplish this. It is the bane of modern-day conventional medicine. Patients are lined up like widgets, waiting for basic needs that frequently never arrives. In short, this is a far cry from what the practice of medicine looked like just a few decades ago. And this is considered by the industry to be quality patient care? Really? In virtually every case, it amounts to nothing more than marketing hype. The mercenary nature of today’s healthcare system leads to misdiagnoses, misunderstandings, and sometimes even to death.
It is high time for people to assume responsibility for their own healthcare. Prevention is the key. Eating a healthy diet, exercising, getting fresh air and sunshine, among other basic health principles, will help prevent a visit to the doctor in the first place and will be instrumental in ensuring ongoing good health. If illness does happen, which it will invariably do in this day and age, the use of natural remedies is the best solution to staying out of the clutches of Big Pharma and avoiding the sometimes deadly side effects associated with pharmaceutical drugs. There are alternatives to conventional healthcare. Perhaps if the masses were to tell their chosen healthcare providers that “enough is enough” and stop patronizing their practices and hospitals, there would be an impetus for the industry to make the kind of changes that would move modern medicine back toward the model of bygone days, rather than into the proverbial coffin where it is surely headed today.
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