Woman dies in hospital waiting room

[southsider2k5]

How many ERs are underutilized? Here it is a 6-7 hour wait in an ER on a good day.

 

I see your point, and it is a excellent one and would have to be addressed for any improvements to our system to work. But which is more feasible, more Doctors and clinics like at Cosco or more ERs offering treatment for no renumeration? Perhaps if providers were actually being paid for treating these patients we would decrease crowding in ERs and Doctors offices could actually expand and shorten up those wait times? I don't think that having millions of patients receiving treatment for free is a good for the system either.

 

There just isn't excess capacity as I see it anywhere in the health care system, especially for 50,000,000 people. There is no where to move the people that we have now, let alone all of the new ones.

[Texsox]

There just isn't excess capacity as I see it anywhere in the health care system, especially for 50,000,000 people. There is no where to move the people that we have now, let alone all of the new ones.

 

The difference here is I believe the majority are being treated, just either at none or reduced payments at ERs and other resources that will not turn away patients.

 

Are you suggesting we just have to live with the fact that a sizeable portion of our population will not receive any health care except in dire emergencies? Is that a good public health policy?

 

ANd I agree that the increase in patients will have to be carefully considered.

[southsider2k5]

The difference here is I believe the majority are being treated, just either at none or reduced payments at ERs and other resources that will not turn away patients.

 

Are you suggesting we just have to live with the fact that a sizeable portion of our population will not receive any health care except in dire emergencies? Is that a good public health policy?

 

ANd I agree that the increase in patients will have to be carefully considered.

 

i didn't say it was good, I am just rooted in the reality that anyone who says they can treat everyone and not destroy the system is a con artist.

[Texsox]

i didn't say it was good, I am just rooted in the reality that anyone who says they can treat everyone and not destroy the system is a con artist.

 

Good was a poor choice of words, perhaps a better choice is necessary evil? I agree that we cannot treat everyone as if they were members of congress. I do think we need to improve the system to the point where someone with hepatitis, flu, TB, etc. can more easily receive treatment.

 

I also believe that our system is sized for the paying customers which is why some resources are so over taxed. I also believe it could grow to accommodate the added paying customers. To look at the current infrastructure and say no way it could accept all these new customers, makes sense only if it remains business as usual. I see the explosion in adult day care centers that occurred when money was shifted from nursing home only to day care environments and think a similar expansion could happen with neighborhood health clinics with nurse practitioners and RNs replacing Doctors.

 

Perhaps I'm a con artist, but I think we can make steady improvements to the system until the number of Americans with no access to health care services is a much smaller number.