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Don't mistake me, I think our medical system is doing everything it can to deal with the COVID-19 crisis. However it is clear that the system here in North America and in Europe is totally inadequate for the task. I can't deny that shutting down whole national economies is being done to try to protect people my age, and others with serious medical problems. But it is no solution. The virus will continue to exist in the world's population, and viruses have a habit of mutating quickly and unpredictably, which means the vaccines against viral diseases are always hit and miss. So the vaccines feverishly being developed now for use sometime next year may be of limited use against the virus as it develops. Indeed, I have already heard that there are two very similar strains of the virus now.
The history of the Spanish flu (H1N1 virus) shows that the best protection against serious complications is unfortunately getting the disease, and developing a natural immunity. At some point in my life many people developed partial immunity to the disease from catching similar kinds of flu, so that the pandemic of 2009 was fortunately a fraction of the problem the disease was in 1918 when it first spread through the world. I certainly can't recommend letting everyone catch COVID-19 in hopes those of us alive now will be done with it. But flattening the curve as our medical systems call it, will in fact prolong the epidemic, for the sake of our physicians being more able to treat the most dire cases as they arise.
Not only is there a shortage of equipment for treating COVID-19 there is a shortage of physicians. While stockpiling respirators for some possible future respiratory viral epidemic is likely impractical, something could be done about the shortage of physicians. I don't mean simply training more doctors. I would suggest that a new class of health care worker falling somewhere between nurses and doctors be developed. This epidemic has proven we can't always rely on an American system that requires a four-year college degree, plus three years of medical school, plus an internship to practice at all, plus three years of residency to practice outside of a hospital. City dwellers seem to forget that large sections of the country have very limited access to medical care, simply because medical education is so expensive that physicians simply can't afford to practice in smaller communities any more. Some other countries at least skip the four-years of college to train physicians. Our system breeds physicians very protective, even jealous of their position in society. I don't say we don't need those experts as now fully trained. But I do say that we've come to a point where it's too expensive, and perhaps too dangerous to rely on them entirely.
The history of the Spanish flu (H1N1 virus) shows that the best protection against serious complications is unfortunately getting the disease, and developing a natural immunity. At some point in my life many people developed partial immunity to the disease from catching similar kinds of flu, so that the pandemic of 2009 was fortunately a fraction of the problem the disease was in 1918 when it first spread through the world. I certainly can't recommend letting everyone catch COVID-19 in hopes those of us alive now will be done with it. But flattening the curve as our medical systems call it, will in fact prolong the epidemic, for the sake of our physicians being more able to treat the most dire cases as they arise.
Not only is there a shortage of equipment for treating COVID-19 there is a shortage of physicians. While stockpiling respirators for some possible future respiratory viral epidemic is likely impractical, something could be done about the shortage of physicians. I don't mean simply training more doctors. I would suggest that a new class of health care worker falling somewhere between nurses and doctors be developed. This epidemic has proven we can't always rely on an American system that requires a four-year college degree, plus three years of medical school, plus an internship to practice at all, plus three years of residency to practice outside of a hospital. City dwellers seem to forget that large sections of the country have very limited access to medical care, simply because medical education is so expensive that physicians simply can't afford to practice in smaller communities any more. Some other countries at least skip the four-years of college to train physicians. Our system breeds physicians very protective, even jealous of their position in society. I don't say we don't need those experts as now fully trained. But I do say that we've come to a point where it's too expensive, and perhaps too dangerous to rely on them entirely.
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That's already happening, and apparently has been. I forget what the designation is (those letters after the title, like CPN or RN) but these are, as I understand, additionally trained nurses that do nearly everything a doctor does except for the most critical items.
Our system breeds physicians very protective, even jealous of their position in society.
Absolutely right, IMO. While I'll state right up front that this is conjecture on my part, when I was a child, doctors not only made house calls, but I don't recall any of my or my parent's doctors being as obsessed with high income levels and social status as I often see today. Another way of stating it is that they were professionals first, and business people much farther down the line.
Somewhere between the 60's and the 70's, I imagine business people (financial planners and suchlike) meeting up with groups of doctors to point out to them that their profession is a crucial one to society, and therefore--- not using these words directly, of course-- told them they're being stupid not to exploit that need.
Then the problem can become that if you are a person not inclined to exploit others financially, you constantly end up working with-- or for-- others who don't have the slightest problem with doing so.
Now what? If a colleague you work with is earning twice what you are, and you both are about equal in abilities...
Back in early December I have to have some surgery, fortunately fairly minor. The radiology diagnostics, surgery, one overnight stay in the hospital, hospital administered pharmaceuticals, etc. ended up billing Medicare and my Medigap insurance for-- get ready-- nearly $30,000.
Seriously? It's beyond ridiculous.
On the good side, the nurses were great. They really are the people who hold the whole damn thing together, sez me.
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Things got bad with hospitals when they started to be looked at as investments instead of just places for people to be helped.
Yep, it's been a long, long time since the doctor came to our house to check on my obvious case of the mumps! Third grade maybe...