As an aspiring physician, I like to keep up to date on healthcare issues, new hospital systems, clinical research, and various medical opinions. American healthcare has always been a topic of debate no matter your preferred source of news. Most recently, you may have heard about the controversy on vaccinations and the staggering measles outbreak numbers happening as I type! If you have no clue about the current disputes in the healthcare system or would like to be enlightened, some of these concerns could be of value to you.
Since I take a large interest in this subject matter, I like to do my research with verified statistics and then form a valid and reasonable opinion on them. I have, therefore, compiled a list of current healthcare issues that may undergo significant improvement in the future! These are things that current physicians and professional health care management systems work hard to avoid in their work. It is a long road ahead for the evolvement of these areas, but public awareness is what we hope to keep the future of American healthcare secure.
1. Patient Waiting Times
If you’ve ever had to sit through an emergency waiting room, you might be familiar with the long hours spent in a hospital chair. A new system that calls for distributed time among patients needs to be put in place to give emergencies their proper attention.
2. Physician Availability
It’s almost counterintuitive for a patient to have work around a physician’s availability in a hospital system. With growing technology platforms, a secure online website can be made to browse appointments for both physician and patient convenience.
3. Healthcare Insurance
The future of healthcare insurance is, as you may know, a topic of huge debate between political parties. For many patients, even after insurance coverage, medical bills are out of their financial boundaries. This is a unique part of healthcare as it is something that is very fluid with changing laws and regulations.
4. Safety
While not a lot of safety concern scenarios make it on to the news, it’s important to know of their presence. As a patient, it is also of your concern to be worried about the safety practices and measurements taken for your well-being. It’s actually encouraged for patients to ask questions about the medical care being given to them.
5. Effectiveness
Many patients struggle with receiving conclusive results or effective care for their conditions. It may take multiple doctor visits and medications before their body is responsive to their treatment. This causes added stress and maybe even worsening conditions for the patient.
6. Equality
Dr. Rupee Marya at a California medical school spoke out a few years ago on the inequality of healthcare between races. She confirmed with nationwide statistics that black women are at a higher risk for heart attacks simply because they are not listened to at first encounter. It is very easy to get caught up in society’s stereotypes and have pre-conceived notions about a certain class, race, gender etc. As a physician, it’s important to provide individual assessed care to patients without subconscious effect on treatment care.