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Fair sisk'od
- Colin Mailer (8 July 2007)
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American system of healthcare is here
- Elizabeth TJ Augustine (19 July 2007)
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American system is not here
- stephen black (20 July 2007)
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Colin Mailer, ophthalmologist 409-450 Central Ave, London On Canada
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This is "lowland Scots" for "I was fair sick of it"-i.e "sicko". I left the film tired and by the next morning I was angry. The movie failed to mention the excellence of American Medicine of which, in my opinion, the best is the best in the World. Take the Mayo Clinic for example. Untruthful: allegedly indigent Americans cannot enter Canada and legally pick up a Health Card with a USA address and then fraudulently use the "free" Canadian Health Care System. The glories of "free medical care" in Cuba, Canada,France or the British Isles fails to question how good that care is (quality or lack of) or address the widespread overuse of Medical and Health Services by patients. The glories of free medical care fail to mention the hours and hours of unpaid paper work done e.g by Ontario and other physicians, all of whom work very hard to keep the system going because they always have. Does not mention the fact that 30% of patientts have no GP here. 35$ drugs sold at 3.5 pesos in Cuba takes no account of quality and the substitution of generic medications for proprietary medications that goes on e.g in Canada and is not in the patient's interest. Unfair to Pharmaceutical Industry. Portraying the suave English-speaking French Physician at Hopital St Antoine as rabidly anti-American was unfair on everyone. The best was Michael Moore himself. Always badly dressed in a dirty red cap like a truck driver + paunch and representing the ugly American. I do not think he is like that in real life! Competing interests: None declared |
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Elizabeth TJ Augustine, GP Registrar Macklin Street Surgery, DE1 3AZ
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Mike Moore's documentary was quite shocking but not surprising. Most of us are aware of the disjointed sysytem of healthcare in the United States, but it was quite difficult to relate to the fact that people were actually dying as a result of deliberate denial of medical care. Mike Moore's aim was to contrast the US system of healthcare with other countries that have universal coverage, like the UK, France, Cuba and Canada. While he does paint a rosy picture of universal coverage, one cannot discount the fact that it has its faults as well. On the whole, one would have to agree that we, in the UK, live privileged lives where accessing free essential medical care is not an issue. What Mike Moore failed to mention was that the big American insurance companies have started moving into the UK. United Healthcare Europe is up and running in the UK. As I see it, these companies are the biggest threat to the NHS. I dread to think of what might be the state of healthcare in this country in another 30 years. We have allowed our lifestyle to be dictated by big American companies and now we are allowing them to eat into the NHS. Sadly, the British public may realise this when it is too late. Their NHS is being stolen from right under their noses and they don't know it. I don't think we, as doctors, should view these insurance companies as competition and hence a threat to our livelihoods. Instead, they herald the dismantling of the NHS. Competing interests: None declared |
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stephen black, management consultant sw1w 9sr
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The design of reform in England is in no way moving towards the US system of healthcare even though some american firms are involved. It is a easy rhetorical shot, but entirely misleading. The only role of independent sector firms in the English health system is as providers where they have to compete for work by being more attractive to patients than other providers (NHS and other independents such as Bupa). Patients don't have to worry about insurance or about payment, removing the most iniquitous parts of the US system. Providers do have to worry about patients, removing the worst aspect of centrally planned systems where hospitals have no incentive to pay attention to what patients want. Competing interests: None declared |
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