Title: Critical Condition: How Health Care In America Became Big Business-And Bad Medicine:
Authors: Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele
ISBN: 038550453
The following review was contributed by:NORM GOLDMAN: Editor of Bookpleasures:
REVIEW
Investigative reporters and the only journalists in history to be awarded two Pulitzer Prizes and two National Magazine Awards, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele have presented a riveting expos
Concierge medicine has had somewhat of a “brand/identity” issue in the media and health care marketplace. Concierge medicine (also known as “Direct Care” and sometimes closely aligned with the term “Direct Primary Care”) is a term used to describe a relationship with a primary care physician in which the patient pays an affordable fee for access and cost effective care with their primary care doctor.
Concierge medicine has had somewhat of a “brand/identity” issue in the media and health care marketplace. It has also been referred to as: membership medicine; boutique medicine; retainer-based medicine; concierge health care; cash only practice; direct care; direct primary care and direct practice medicine. While a typical physician can carry a patient load of 2,500+ patients, a concierge physician generally limits their practice to between 300-600 patients or more. While all concierge medicine practices share similarities, they vary widely in their structure, payment requirements, and form of operation. In particular, they differ in the level of service provided and the amount of the fee charged. There are an estimated 5,000 concierge, or membership medicine doctors throughout the U.S., according to SIMPD. However, there is only one organization tracking the specific number of concierge/direct primary care practices in the U.S. today, Concierge Medicine Today, an online news agency dedicated to educating traditional practice physicians and patients about the cost effectiveness and value these types of practices can provide to both physicians and patients.
This term also refers to those primary care and family practice physicians who have chosen to provide healthcare services in a more convenient, accessible and cost efficient manner to their patients. These physicians charge patients a membership fee ranging from $600 to $1,800/year and higher. In exchange for this fee, concierge practices generally include 24/7 access to a personal physicians’ cell phone, same-day appointments with no waiting, personal coordination of care with specialists, personal follow up when admitted to a hospital or ER, house calls, and more.
Holistic medicine is health care that comprises all the aspects of one’ s personality to obtain the optimum state of wellness. It encompasses the process of looking into the wholeness of the person including nutritional, physical, environmental, spiritual, lifestyle and social values. Holistic medicine includes virtually all treatments and diagnosis known to achieve balance in personality. It upholds the responsibility of educating one’s self to attain the ideal over-all health and well being.
Holistic medicine and Alternative Medicine
Alternative medicine is commonly associated with holistic medicine. By definition, alternative medicine is the medical techniques that are usually not accepted or practiced by conventional medical practitioners. Most alternative medicines are founded to have rooted on unscientific, untested and untraditional principles. Often, these forms of medicine are closely associated with metaphysical components and anti-scientific stands.
Many of these techniques don’t normally have pharmaceutical values like the acupuncture, herbalism, Reiki, homeopathy and the likes. Yet the alternative medicine may also be used in experimental non-drug and drug techniques that are not yet accepted in the medical circles. The future of alternative medicine holds on the potentiality of transforming the “alternative medicine” into conventional medicine since it is now becoming widely appreciated and practiced by medical doctors. In fact, complementary medicine is the term used for alternative medicine practiced in combination with conventional medicine.
Due to these changes in view of the alternative medicine, holistic medicine has become a more preferable option among those who are quite doubtful of the alternative medicine.
Alternative medicine may appeal to metaphysical beliefs and so does the holistic medicine but on milder and more scientifically based approach. Yet the knowledge applied in holistic medicine still cannot hide the fact that it tends to cling to non-scientific knowledge.
Simply put holistic medicine claims to cure and treat the whole person. Holistic medicine stresses out the unification of the mind and the physical body. Holistic medicine practitioners give credence to the belief the man is not a pure physical body with systems and parts that encompass it. Man is also a spiritual being that requires spiritual healing. Holistic medicine concerns itself to the belief of the connection between the spirit and emotions and mind.
The gap between holistic medicine and alternative medicine is closed by the common practice of not using drug treatments and surgeries. They usually employ meditation, herbs, prayers, vitamins and minerals, as well as exotic diets in treating certain ailments.
Holistic Medicine and Conventional Medicine
Allopathy or conventional medicine defines individual health as the non-occurrence of diseases, which appeals to be a negative approach in defining the condition. Holistic medicine on the other hand concerns itself on a person’s absolute state of physical, social, mental and spiritual well-being.
As based on the definition given (that is commonly used among medical practitioners), orthodox medicine remains to deal with one’s susceptibility to diseases instead of the wellness as opposed by holistic medicine. Based on common observations, conventional medicine typically doesn’t apply to healthy individuals. While holistic medicine focuses on the quality of living practiced by people. Sick people normally don’t seek medical attention not until the symptoms of the disease/s are obvious. Thus, there is too little preventive treatment against sickness.
There are great differences between holistic medicine and the conventional type both in the diagnosis and treatments. Most of which are scientifically based. In oppose to this stand, diagnosis in holistic treatment are conceived through the manifestations of body imbalance. These are determined through certain procedures distinctive only to holistic medicine and other related medicinal practices.
People who have already undergone any of these procedures claim that is not bad trying on or all of these practices. Yet individual preferences still have the hand on what will be accepted as the ideal procedure.
Critical caring medicine is used to provide life or organ support to patients who are critically ill or injured and require special monitoring. These patients normally suffer from respiratory or airway compromise, renal failure blood instability, or the effects of many organs failing. Patients who have not been stabilized to the point where they do not require intensive monitoring after a major are also given critical care.
This idea of critical caring has been developed as a crucial area of caring for a patient as medical technology and medicine advances. The critical care units first came after world war two to care for patients that required close monitoring and care. In those days, the patients that were most in need of care were located closest to the nursing station while the others were located further away. As a result, the patients were rotated constantly dependent on the need and the availability of beds.
Critical care nurses deal with the response of humans to life threatening traumas. To become a critical care nurse all that is required is for you to be a registered nurse (RN) and trained, obtaining a critical nursing certification is not a must. However, majority of the employers prefer nurses who have been certified in the field, as these nurses would have the skill and knowledge required for the job. To become certified a nurse must provide care for patients who are critically ill for at least 2 years and then they take the exam.
A critical care nurse is required to work under the nursing supervisor and care for the patients to which he or she has been assigned to. The tasks involves performing treatments, dispensing all medications and maintaining accurate and complete records for each patient. This nurse should be able to identify when a patient in critical care is experiencing complications, and be able to operate the different equipments in the critical care unit. This nurse is also required to help the doctors carry out procedures and treatments which is inclusive of sterile treatments.
It is recommended that each critical nurse be assigned 2 patients at most, however this may not be what happens in some hospitals depending on their staffing number. Hospitals in the United States can have up to 24% of the beds that are available for critical care patients. In this unit special and comprehensive care is provided 24/7. The rooms are built with glass walls to facilitate the constant supervision of the patients. In most cases the unit may have specified visiting time, with the visitors being restricted to family members only, so as to allow the staff to work at their optimum level without the influences from outside, compromising the care given.
Critical care doctors treat conditions that are threatening a patient’s life, organ or limb. This area is a medical specialty because it is necessary to provide instantaneous diagnosis along with managing urgent aspects of the patient’s injury or illness. Doctors in the unit must have a wide field of knowledge inclusive of trauma management, surgical skills, airway and cardiac life-support. The medicines used in critical care, include both general medicines and specialized medicines which are used to diagnose conditions and stabilize the patient.
Since primeval and ancient times people have used and practiced herbal remedies to treat many common ailments. Instead of going to the store they go into the field or forest to gather their herb remedies. Many have cultivated and grew their own medical plants on their land or yard. Those days may seem long gone and forgotten nevertheless it is closer than you think. There are many items and products in your own refrigerator or garden that you may have not known of their medicinal qualities and value. The following are some of these kitchen medicine you might have:
Common Ailments Kitchen Medicine
abdominal pain, back pain, hernia – star anise
diarrhea, indigestion, stomachache – sweet basil
cold limbs and abdominal pain – cinnamon bark
whooping cough, edema, dysentery – garlic
vomiting, asthma, menstrual pain – fresh ginger
common cold, cough, headache – spearmint
stress, poor appetite, palpitation – licorice
chronic enteritis, indigestion – apple
hypertension, hemorrhoid – banana
constipation, enteritis, sore throat – fig
night sweat, rheumatism, edema – grape
indigestion, poor appetite – grapefruit
mucus discharge, intoxication – grapefruit peel
hemorrhoids, diabetes, diarrhea – guava
cough with mucus, diabetes – lemon
liver disease, diabetes, ascites – plum
diuretic, mouth cancer sores – watermelon
impotence, bladder stones, cough – walnut
upset stomach, beri-beri, dry cough – peanut
chronic diarrhea, indigestion, cough – carrot
hypertension, dizziness, headache – celery
suppression of urine, constipation – white bulb of green onion
lack of energy, mumps – white potato
anemia, measles, hypertension – shitake mushroom (black)