Something ain’t clean in the milk…this is an opinion reached by someone observing the state of healthcare delivery in America. We live in an age where technology is so advanced that scientists are able to send the spaceship Voyager on a trip outside our solar system, but we can’t cure the common cold.
Moreover, Artificial Intelligence (AI) is threatening to change the way we see the world. Those supposedly in the know are apparently fearful about what is to come. They expect the intelligence of machines and/or software to take over the world. Technology is so advanced nowadays that the sky seems to be the limit as to what AI can accomplish.
Basically, in almost every area of modern life, technology is leaping ahead at an incredible rate. Some of the progress being made is phenomenal; we appear to be moving forward so fast into the technological future people might think we are actually reaching a level that competes with the real Star Wars franchise.
But something ain’t clean in the milk. The more advanced we become, and the more we learn about medicine and health, the sicker people are becoming. The more we move ahead, the farther behind we seem to fall when it comes to health outcomes. In a world populated by healthcare geniuses who are envisioning inputting electrodes in human brains to help control biological processes, we are falling short of successful health outcomes.
What can be wrong? After all, so much is being spent on healthcare initiatives that an outside observer might conclude that healthcare outcomes are better than ever, especially in an advanced society like ours. But once again, something ain’t clean in the milk; something’s not adding up, and apparently people are not paying adequate attention. If they do, they will see clearly that something is wrong with our healthcare model!
The problem? With all of the advances we have made, we still live in a sick society. People, for the most part, are becoming victim to more and more health challenges that offset the positive gains that should be evident, considering the amount of money that is earmarked for healthcare initiatives.
Currently, we are witnessing an increase in certain kinds of health problems, but we are not sure of the causes. For example, cancer, heart disease, strokes, RSV, shingles, diabetes, kidney disease, and more are rampant. And disturbingly, there seems to be an uptick in Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia. Cases of dementia, in particular, seem to be skyrocketing, with all kinds of snake-oil salesmen hawking products that allegedly reverse the incidence of this problematic disorder.
The healthcare industry, therefore, is out of sync with the amount of money that it generates. In other words, there is a backward, or upside-down relationship between healthcare needs and the amount of money spent on it. The more money thrown at the problem, the more people are suffering. People are not being healed as much as they are being kept in a holding pattern.
Why is this happening? Most likely it is because there is more money to be made when the public is kept in a holding pattern, as opposed to being treated with methods that would actually result in cures. The healthcare industry seems to be focused on making money and not on healing.
Who is at fault in this? On the one hand, citizens should be given as much help as possible financially because our environment, especially the impact of industrial pollution, is responsible for a lot of illness. On the other hand, citizens know this, but they are not holding the healthcare industry responsible and insisting it change the way it does business.
Essentially, there is enough blame to go around. But we also know that power concedes nothing without demand. Citizens stand to lose the most if they don’t insist that the healthcare industry change its strategy and focus on healing as opposed to maintenance. Our healthcare system is upside down and needs to change! A Luta Continua.
