Stossel is of course just a shock jock with a camera. He implies that the lack of hospital technology caused by the Canadian system killed Natasha Richardson. That facts are if she had permitted herself to be transported to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Sainte Agathe she would have been checked and undergone a CT scan. Due to her refusal immediately after the fall, she was not hospitalized until the next day. By then her chances of survival were not good.
His geography and understanding are very urban. Really though, how many ski resorts are in remote areas when much of rural America doesn’t have doctors. Only 10% of doctors practice in rural areas but 21% of Americans live in underserved areas. Our current high profit system creates these kinds of problems.
He infers that there are plenty of doctors in America. Actually family doctors are in short supply in many towns and cities across America as well as most are getting into only the high profit specialties.
He implies that we will have to wait. According to this research we already do: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/05/15/the-doctor-will-see-you-when-appointment-wait-times-in15-cities.aspx They found that we already wait 47 days just to see the heart specialist. 70 days to see an OB/GYN and more than 2 months or 63days to see a family physician unless there is an emergency like Natasha's.
I sent this to everyone I know.
ReplyDeleteStossel is of course just a shock jock with a camera. He implies that the lack of hospital technology caused by the Canadian system killed Natasha Richardson. That facts are if she had permitted herself to be transported to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Sainte Agathe she would have been checked and undergone a CT scan. Due to her refusal immediately after the fall, she was not hospitalized until the next day. By then her chances of survival were not good.
ReplyDeleteHis geography and understanding are very urban. Really though, how many ski resorts are in remote areas when much of rural America doesn’t have doctors. Only 10% of doctors practice in rural areas but 21% of Americans live in underserved areas. Our current high profit system creates these kinds of problems.
He infers that there are plenty of doctors in America. Actually family doctors are in short supply in many towns and cities across America as well as most are getting into only the high profit specialties.
He implies that we will have to wait. According to this research we already do: http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thehumancondition/archive/2009/05/15/the-doctor-will-see-you-when-appointment-wait-times-in15-cities.aspx
They found that we already wait 47 days just to see the heart specialist. 70 days to see an OB/GYN and more than 2 months or 63days to see a family physician unless there is an emergency like Natasha's.