Inspired by witnessing and experiencing the changes in healthcare and its delivery over the past 50 years, Dr. Henry Buchwald observes and comments on the current state of healthcare in the United States. His narrative includes the history, the historical data, and personal experiences of a healthcare system that has moved away from caring, first and foremost, for patients. This expensive, impersonal system, he believes may not be in the best interest either of the nation or of the people it purports to heal.
As the title suggests, it appears that healthcare has been turned upside down to serve the administrators of the system and away from its basic function of offering the best care for patients. With this basic principle in mind, the topics presented in this book provide and discuss healthcare statistics and alterations to the language of medicine. The chapters themselves examine the transformations to the medical school, the clinic and the office, the hospital, and the practice. Additional chapters discuss the role of the payers, public health research, as well as pandemics, including COVID-19, the advantages and disadvantages of socialized medicine, as well as the broken doctor/patient relationship. Finally, Dr. Buchwald offers thoughts on the areas in which future healthcare efforts can most fruitfully be expended.
Analysing today’s pervading administrative domination of essentially every facet of healthcare, Healthcare Upside Down thoughtfully considers the variety of ways in which we can turn the current healthcare system right-side up to serve those who should be the ultimate beneficiaries – all of us as patients, now and in the future.
Author(s): Henry Buchwald
Publisher: Springer
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 132
City: Cham
Preface
Other Publications by Dr. Buchwald
Reviews of This Book
Judith E. “Judy” Heumann
Dr. David B Hoyt
Dr. Joseph M. Vigneri
Acknowledgements
Contents
About the Author
Chapter 1: Statistics
Life Expectancy
Mortality Rate
Potential Life Lost Years
Infant Mortality
Amenable Mortality to Healthcare
Healthcare Access and Quality Index
Healthcare Availability
Healthcare Cost
Summary
Racial Discrepancy (See Chap. 9: The Underprivileged)
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 2: The Language of Change
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 3: The Medical School
Medical School Origins
The Medical School: Mission and Reality
Teaching
Teaching Primary Care
Teaching Advanced Care
Teaching Research
Best of Current Medical Practice
Medical School Research
Costs of Running a Medical School
Medical School Summary
Conclusion
Sources
Chapter 4: The Clinic; The Office
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 5: The Hospital
History
Pre-twentieth Century
Twentieth Century Transitions
Hospitals in the Twenty-First Century
Getting In; Getting Out; Getting In Again
In-Hospital Medical Care
Hospital Accreditation
Hospitals: A Business
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 6: The Practice
What Was
What Is
What Will Be
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 7: Payers
Ultimate Payer
Insurers
Hospital Systems
Pharmaceuticals and Medical Instrument Companies
Summary
The Business of Healthcare
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 8: Socialized Medicine
Definitions
Single Payer
Socialized Medicine
US Healthcare System
Principals and Practices of Socialized Medicine: The Good and the Bad
Universal Healthcare
Equity of Care
Exclusions from Care
Access to Care
Quotas
Patient Freedom of Choice
Physician Freedom of Choice
Preventative Healthcare
Use of Medical Care
Quality of Care
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 9: The Underprivileged
Historical Notes
Ancient Egypt
Ancient China
Indian Subcontinent
Ancient Greece
Ancient Rome
Early Europe
The USA
Colonial Times
The 1800s; the Civil War
The 1900s
Early 2000s
The Status of the Underprivileged in Current US Healthcare
Native Americans
African Americans
Hispanic Americans
Asian Americans
Disabled Americans
Gender
All of Us Are Healthcare Underprivileged
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 10: Public Health and Pandemics
Public Health Definition
United States Public Health Service and Its Performance
Public Health and Individual Health
Epidemics and Pandemics
Lessons Learned
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 11: COVID-19
The Statistics
Responsibility
Government
The Public
The Economy
Healthcare Agencies and Experts
What Is SARS-COV-2, the Cause of COVID-19?
Beating COVID-19
Societal Isolation
Vaccines
Drugs
Nature
First Responders
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 12: Research
Definition and Origin of Research
Research and Pandemics
Learning Research
Funding Research
The Soul of Research
Healthcare Research Upside Down
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 13: Doctor/Patient Relationship
The Doctor/Patient Relationship
History
Deterioration of the Doctor/Patient Relationship
Personal Recollections
The New World
My Doctor, My Patient
Conclusions
Sources
Chapter 14: Where Do We Go from Here?
Ten Potential Remedies
Healthcare Workers and Their Leadership
Advocates of Public Health
Medical Schools
Medical and Social Research
Insurers of Healthcare
Providers: Hospitals and Clinics
Government and Politicians
The Media
Philanthropy
Everyone
Conclusions
Sources
Epilogue
Index
