I am currently a junior at UW-Eau Claire. My experiences with outpatient care have been fairly good. My mom works for the Eau Claire school district and my dad works for the city, so both of my parents have pretty good health care coverage. Whenever I'm not feeling well, I simply set up an appointment with Urgent Care and get in pretty quickly.
I do wonder what changes will occur when the new health care reform takes place. I, personally, haven't been responsible for "paying" the bills, but I wonder if access will be limited with more patients in the system. I believe the new reform also permits children to remain on parents' insurance until they are 26 years of age. With the economy and how difficult it is to find a job now, I feel this is a benefit, not just to me but other students as well.
-SophieA.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Student Perspective
Today’s debates over health care and health insurance are analogous to the state of medicine. We spend too much time treating the symptoms, as opposed to finding a cure for the real sickness. Looking into the health industry over the past several years has led me to conclude that the solutions proposed to our problems are not truly aimed at the benefit of society.
Listening to the most recent national discussions on health insurance leaves most people, including members of Congress, scratching their heads. The Democrats seem to want to push whatever they can under the control of the Health & Human Services Department, former WI Governor Tommy Thompson’s former post. Whereas the Republicans, seem to be up in arms over pieces of the legislation that have been supported by Republican Presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush.
I, on the other hand, wish that the debates wouldn’t center on government controls and mandates, but patient choices and competition in the health care industry. To understand where we are, we must look from where we came.
The mid-19th century is where the foundation of today’s debate was laid. The 1860’s saw the removal of most regulations in health care which led to competition between the allopathic mainstream medicine with its eclectic and homeopathic counterparts. This was also a time when the schools of medicine were much more affordable, and much easier to access. The competition driven marketplace that existed kept prices low, and patients’ needs met. However, this was also the time that the American Medical Association(AMA), and Congress soon to follow, began to make its mark on the industry.
Health care providers were generally middle-income Americans, and had a more intimate relationship with patients that often led to working out prices that both parties could agree upon. This isn’t to say that doctors don’t deserve a high income, in fact, they deserve to make a killing, no pun intended. Also, to obtain an education in the medical field students didn’t have to invest an exorbitant amount of time and money, compared to the debt-ridden, over half-century long education necessary to enter the field today.
The 20th century saw the growth of power in organizations like the AMA and Health Management Organizations(HMO’s), and with insurance providers like Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The rise of these organizations was, unfortunately, not due to their positive impact on the patient, but rather on their support from unionized labor and legislation from Congress. The growth of accredited schools for medical practitioners was stymied, and entrance into practice became more and more difficult. This had the obvious impact of increasing the cost of education, and the limiting of growth in field. This shift pushed onto patients higher costs for care, and higher premiums for insurance.
Some ideas that I believe would push the industry in a positive direction for the patient is to reform insurance in several ways. Health insurance, like any other insurance, should not be linked to your employment, which could be accomplished by revising the tax code. The use of health insurance should also be examined. Most people have car insurance, but nobody uses it to get an oil change. This should apply to the outpatient when they receive minimal treatment, and/or purchase small amounts of pharmaceuticals. Leaving their health insurance to be used for the catastrophic events in life like cancer and heart attacks, similar to car crashes and flood damage to the house.
As a future member of the health care service industry I know that today’s problems don’t lie in the hands of providers, it lies in the foundation our industry is built on. The debates of today do not look to fix the sickness that is at the foundation of increased costs, but instead focuses on the symptoms of its superstructure.
When I ascend to the Presidency I will straighten it all out for us though, don’t you worry.
Bryce Chinault
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Listening to the most recent national discussions on health insurance leaves most people, including members of Congress, scratching their heads. The Democrats seem to want to push whatever they can under the control of the Health & Human Services Department, former WI Governor Tommy Thompson’s former post. Whereas the Republicans, seem to be up in arms over pieces of the legislation that have been supported by Republican Presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush.
I, on the other hand, wish that the debates wouldn’t center on government controls and mandates, but patient choices and competition in the health care industry. To understand where we are, we must look from where we came.
The mid-19th century is where the foundation of today’s debate was laid. The 1860’s saw the removal of most regulations in health care which led to competition between the allopathic mainstream medicine with its eclectic and homeopathic counterparts. This was also a time when the schools of medicine were much more affordable, and much easier to access. The competition driven marketplace that existed kept prices low, and patients’ needs met. However, this was also the time that the American Medical Association(AMA), and Congress soon to follow, began to make its mark on the industry.
Health care providers were generally middle-income Americans, and had a more intimate relationship with patients that often led to working out prices that both parties could agree upon. This isn’t to say that doctors don’t deserve a high income, in fact, they deserve to make a killing, no pun intended. Also, to obtain an education in the medical field students didn’t have to invest an exorbitant amount of time and money, compared to the debt-ridden, over half-century long education necessary to enter the field today.
The 20th century saw the growth of power in organizations like the AMA and Health Management Organizations(HMO’s), and with insurance providers like Blue Cross and Blue Shield. The rise of these organizations was, unfortunately, not due to their positive impact on the patient, but rather on their support from unionized labor and legislation from Congress. The growth of accredited schools for medical practitioners was stymied, and entrance into practice became more and more difficult. This had the obvious impact of increasing the cost of education, and the limiting of growth in field. This shift pushed onto patients higher costs for care, and higher premiums for insurance.
Some ideas that I believe would push the industry in a positive direction for the patient is to reform insurance in several ways. Health insurance, like any other insurance, should not be linked to your employment, which could be accomplished by revising the tax code. The use of health insurance should also be examined. Most people have car insurance, but nobody uses it to get an oil change. This should apply to the outpatient when they receive minimal treatment, and/or purchase small amounts of pharmaceuticals. Leaving their health insurance to be used for the catastrophic events in life like cancer and heart attacks, similar to car crashes and flood damage to the house.
As a future member of the health care service industry I know that today’s problems don’t lie in the hands of providers, it lies in the foundation our industry is built on. The debates of today do not look to fix the sickness that is at the foundation of increased costs, but instead focuses on the symptoms of its superstructure.
When I ascend to the Presidency I will straighten it all out for us though, don’t you worry.
Bryce Chinault
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Patient Perspective
As a patient using our health care system, I was asked to comment on my experiences with outpatient or primary care. As a recent graduate, I have had very little experience with outpatient and primary care. This is primarily because I don't have full health coverage due to the cost. Not only that, but I am young and feel I have been fortunate and been fairly healthy.
However, I do feel that outpatient and primary care will greatly affect me in the near future. The health care reform touches on very important topics, but honestly, it's confusing and hard to follow in the news. In the past my outpatient care experiences have been time consuming. On one particular occasion, I was waiting to see a physician about a bad allergy reaction. I had waited so long in the ER that by the time I met with the physician my symptoms had subsided. Frustrated by having waited so long, I simply took the medication he prescribed and headed off to see the pharmacist. It surprises me still that in the Emergency Room I had waited hours.
There are many things that can be improved within our health care system. Particularly with outpatient care, I feel improvements can be made with staffing. If there would have been more primary care physicians, I may have been seen sooner. Also, I would appreciate more quality time with the physician when I do have a concern. I am hopeful the new health care reform will address some of these issues, lower costs, and improve access in the long run.
--S.Lee, a patient
However, I do feel that outpatient and primary care will greatly affect me in the near future. The health care reform touches on very important topics, but honestly, it's confusing and hard to follow in the news. In the past my outpatient care experiences have been time consuming. On one particular occasion, I was waiting to see a physician about a bad allergy reaction. I had waited so long in the ER that by the time I met with the physician my symptoms had subsided. Frustrated by having waited so long, I simply took the medication he prescribed and headed off to see the pharmacist. It surprises me still that in the Emergency Room I had waited hours.
There are many things that can be improved within our health care system. Particularly with outpatient care, I feel improvements can be made with staffing. If there would have been more primary care physicians, I may have been seen sooner. Also, I would appreciate more quality time with the physician when I do have a concern. I am hopeful the new health care reform will address some of these issues, lower costs, and improve access in the long run.
--S.Lee, a patient
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Athletic Trainer Perspective
Hi,
I have been a licensed athletic trainer for 20 years and I have been asked to comment on this blog as a health care worker. As an athletic trainer it is my responsibility to manage and coordinate the care for injured athletes and work with healthy athletes to prevent injury and illness. Athletic training is an allied health profession that often works with primary care physicians as a physician extender.
As a physician extender, athletic trainers work under a licensed physician to help treat and educate patients who are in the "active population." For example, if a patient has an overuse injury from starting a new running program, the physician may ask me to teach the patient some exercises to alleviate the pain. He may also ask me to educate the patient on how the injury developed and how to prevent it in the future. This care model has many benefits.
One such benefit is the quality of service provided to the patient. Often, the patient spends very little time with the physician and is just given orders by the physician. These orders are sometimes confusing the patient and often leads to non-compliance. When an athletic trainer takes the time to discuss the treatment plan with the patient, not only do they better understand why a treatment is needed, but they are more likely to adhere to the care plan.
The second benefit is cost. If this same service were provided by the physician it would cost a lot more money. As you can imagine, it doesn't cost nearly as much to compensate an athletic trainer for 30 minutes as it does a physician.
The final benefit is access. By having an athletic trainer assist a physician with his duties, it allows the physician to increase his patient volume without harming the quality of care.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to discuss the importance of my profession in the inpatient care model.
Denise, Licensed Athletic Trainer
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