What's wrong with the American Healthcare System

[Filibuster]

Hey guys, I've got some interviews coming up and the questions similar to the following are often brought up...

What's wrong with the American Health Care System? How would you fix it?

Well, doing some research I came across this article:

http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2003/10/30/64431/000

Just wondering what others may think.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[njbmd]

Moving to Topics in Healthcare

 

[McDoctor]

Wow, its scary to think that this type of question is being asked on admission interviews. In hindsight, alot of the full time faculty at my medical school were fairly out of touch on the realities of these issues. (I wouldn't answer this way in an interview, however ).

I'd be cautious about what you take away from this article. In the first paragraph alone, the author states that the uninsured are extorted and that doctors are barely getting by financially. This is a sensationalist exaggeration and flat out not true. The author did nothing to support this statement, he just expected you to accept it. Give me a break.

You could point out the financial disparity between specialists and primary care providers. A bigger emphasis on the latter would cut down on health care costs. Not to mention that the bulk of medical dollars are spent on procedure-driven end of life care, few of which have proven to improve outcomes on a whole. A system that discourages unnecessary referrals is a nice concept, but HMO's have their faults as well. I think medical schools need to take it upon themselves to emphasize a broader scope of primary care in its curriculum. Right now, Family Medicine recieves little more than lip service in most schools, at least from students I talk to and my own experiences in medical school.