There are a lot of people who recognize problems in the healthcare system and agree there needs to be major changes. So why haven’t they happened yet? Lower prescription drug costs, access to affordable health insurance, and removing corporate interests remain little more than a Christmas wish list. This is because supporters of healthcare reform are too focused on pushing their agenda, while failing to provide real alternative solutions. What healthcare professionals, politicians, and the American public see are two competing agendas (reform and status quo) which promise about equal cost to benefit ratios.
I have mentioned before the supreme importance of mindset and philosophy in healthcare issues, but I think readers lose me in the process. If I were to spend half this article railing against corporate interests in healthcare, many would join me with “Good, say it like it is!” and “That’s what they deserve to hear!” If the bulk of the article talked about medical advances in the past 50 years and contrasted the quality of healthcare in America with the poor quality in developing nations, others would respond with “Yeah, what is everyone complaining about?” and “Be glad you’re an American.” However, if I tell you the truth – that healthcare’s biggest obstacles are faulty mindsets in practice, management, and public expectations, the majority of readers seem to be at a loss what to make of it.
The Hippie Movement
In the 1960s, many young Americans recognized the corruption in business, government, and religion – the overwhelming hypocrisy shadowing every American institution. Disgusted with society’s leaders who comprised the “establishment,” hippies launched a countercultural revolution. They listened to rock music, tried drugs, engaged in “free love,” and studied eastern religions.
Now let me ask you, did the hippie movement work? “What do you mean?” you might respond. What I mean is did the hippies solve the problems of corruption in business, government, and religion that led them to rebel against authority? I think recent political and corporate scandals reveal that corruption is probably more rampant now than during the 1960s, even while former hippies are running a large number of American institutions.
So why did the hippie revolution fail? It failed because it was never designed to succeed. The purpose was to advance a cultural agenda rather than solve America’s problems. Now, as then, our nation faces real challenges. Before we get angry and rail against anyone, we need to ask ourselves these questions: Do I have something better to offer? If I don’t like the way problems are being handled, then do I have a realistic plan to solve these problems more expediently?
No More Agendas
Whether it is insurance coverage for alternative therapies, medical malpractice reform, access to quality care for low income patients, or preserving physician salaries, neither the healthcare system nor society at large needs another agenda. And this is where mindset becomes important. If your goal is merely to advance an agenda, you will try to defeat your opponents (those with competing agendas) and likely end up in a stressful state of deadlock. Even if your agenda succeeds, it fails when it brings only change, not improvement. And opposing forces will immediately plan to undo your changes, robbing you of the peace of mind you have worked so hard to achieve.
If your goal, on the other hand, is to improve the current situation, you will take initiative to seek solutions with an open mind. You will encourage a cooperative environment instead of a combative one. You will be sensitive to the concerns of doctors, patients, and any other interested party. And you will work to find a structure that addresses these concerns, while rewarding good practices and discouraging bad ones.
The result will be a new system – a better way of doing things – within which those who hold agendas will continue to advance them. But, importantly, they will not attempt to undo the changes made because the changes are agenda-neutral. For example, in a dictatorship one might advance their agenda by flattering or bribing the dictator. In a democracy, one might advance their agenda by lobbying congress or running for political office; but they will not attempt to change government into a dictatorship so they can apply the previous methods – it is of no consequence to their agenda.
My Agenda-Free Goal
I want to create a healthcare system that serves patients’ needs by curing their diseases, not managing them. I would like healthcare to be affordable and uncomplicated. And I would like physicians and other healthcare professionals to be rewarded with seeing good patient results, in addition to healthy salaries.
If this can be accomplished in a private system, that is fine. If a form of national healthcare is necessary then I support making a change. Ultimately, though, the biggest gains will come by addressing the heart of the issue – improving treatments themselves. And that depends primarily on medical philosophy, as I will continue analyzing in this journal.
Alexander Typaldos, JD