Every year, as I enjoy the holidays with my family I’m always surprised how much things change: the town I grew up in, my family, my sister’s children. For me, a lot has changed in the last six months. In June, I started having problems following a conversation when discussing patients with my fellow physicians. At the time, I was on a stressful rotation in my residency, and so I chalked it up to that. I then started having problems with fatigue and balance as well, and the combination of my symptoms advanced to the point where I needed to take a leave of absence from my residency. Being sick and unable to work has given me a lot of time to think about the role change plays in my life, and about change in general. Continue reading New Years and Changes
Monthly Archives: December 2012
About This Blog
Much of the focus on the healthcare discussion has been status quo versus a single payer system. The idea being that if we can simplify payments and increase coverage, we can decrease overall costs and provide healthcare to millions of uninsured Americans. As noble a goal as this might seem, it still ignores a number of fundamental issues. We currently spend more per capita on healthcare then any nation in the world by a margin of $2000 per person in 2008. With a total population of 300 million people, that equates to $600 billion dollars a year more than any other nation. Yet based on The World Health Report in 2006, we ranked 39th for infant mortality, 36th for life expectancy, 43rd for adult female mortality,42nd for adult male mortality, and overall ranked 37th. Changing who pays for healthcare in this country isn’t going to fix these problems. The system needs to change. Continue reading About This Blog