We’ve known that the cost of medicine, particularly in the US, is steep. But, Dr. Rosenthal’s talk this week showed just how steep that price is. Through a number of examples she gleaned from her time as a reporter for the New York Times, she demonstrated to the audience how the financials of medicine could be so unfair and potentially life-threatening. It’s interesting to hear how the US got to this point and even more so how it could be amended (she mentioned some form of a single-payer system would likely arise).
As a pre-med student, I’m conflicted between balancing the needs and finances of my future patients and the financial aspects of my own life, especially those which accompany doctors, like school debts and the costs of operating a practice. At the same time, Dr. Rosenthal highlighted the superfluous expenses hospitals and other medical professionals charge.
Until a more perfect system is implemented into law, a balance between the healthcare industry should be struck with the people they serve. That will keep physicians true to their oath and the people they care for.
I appreciate your honesty in releasing that even though you are pre-med and need to pay debt and other expenses, you see that financial and basic needs future patients have is also important. I wish I could have come to this talk, but I do know that the cost of medicine is incredibly expensive. It will be difficult for a “perfect” system to be implemented, if that is possible considering political gridlock.
I spoke to my physician back home about this topic one time and one of the things that caught my attention was the huge role that insurance companies play in the financial dynamic between doctors and patients. I think if we keep in mind that third-parties play a role in this, we can also find the root of why health care in the US is costly, and potentially more costly than it should be for patients while still providing financial stability for doctors.
I wish I could have gone to this talk as well, and you make some good points in your blog post. It’s very concerning to me how steep the price of medicine is in the U.S., especially since I spent almost a decade in Taiwan (a country that has universal health care) and took for granted cheap and quality healthcare.
Healthcare is incredibly worrisome- it constitutes almost 1/5 of our total GDP, and the figure is only rising. I think part of the problem is the way many Americans (and chiefly politicians) conceive of healthcare. To them, healthcare is a product of service to be bought, and if you can’t buy healthcare, it’s on you. The path to solving this issue lies in both parties agreeing on a fundamental truth- that everyone has a right to have healthcare and that the system should work to provide everyone with quality healthcare.