This CNN article highlights something we all are aware of - medical treatment is expensive.
Looking over the article, however, a new topic in doctor-patient communication becomes particularly apparent. No longer are doctors speaking to patients simply about their disease, treatment options, and prognosis, with the rising costs of healthcare and pharmaceuticals, doctors must now too assess a patient’s ability to pay. Their conversations no longer are centralized on a patient’s case, but rather on weighing options. In the case of a pancreatic cancer patient, for example, what is more important, more valuable to the patient, surviving an extra few weeks or their family’s financial stability? This requires not only the simple conversations between both parties, but also candid and open dialogue about the difficulties presented by the disease, which extend outside of the patient’s physical condition. Such examples make evident the necessities of adequate, and in this particular situation, sensitive doctor-patient communications.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
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3 comments:
This article addresses a very important point in contemporary health care. Economics. Patients simply need to be made aware of the cost of treatments, and the effectiveness of such treatments. As the patient is likely to value the advice given by the physician, it is important for the physician to also be trained in addressing these economic concerns. Hospitals have employed individuals specifically to communicate risks of treatments to patients. It may be in the best interests of both patients and hospitals to employ experts in the field of health care economics.
I think this article also touches on another point of communication - that between the insurance companies and the patients. I imagine that there is a lot of fine print on these insurance policies and that as a result, consumers -like the woman in this article- can easily miss a small but very important change to the policy. I know that insurance companies are really out to make money, but don't you think that ethically, these companies should try to make every effort to communicate these changes to their clients?
While I think this article touches on some hot topics within healthcare, it does not accomplish much. The facts about drastically priced medication are highlighted, but I think a lot more could have been accomplished with a piece like this. It reiterates some common notions about drug treatments with numerical figures yet fails to contextualize or analyze the long-term impacts of such healthcare issues.
I think after hearing Kathy Hudson speak on Wednesday, I read this article much more critically and analytically. I raised similar questions that she mentioned, such as, the effectiveness of the quotations and how well the article outlines the issue and holds true to scientific standards. While doing so, I realized this article does not fully inform readers of the elements in this issue and the contributing speakers did not say anything extremely innovative, inspiring, or compelling.
These factors cause such an important issue to be lost in monotonous writing and ineffective communication. Economic hurdles in medical treatment have been present for a while so there is no longer a strong need to repeat the facts, but instead address them in the context of our future healthcare systems.
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