By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    healthcare cybersecurity
    4 Helpful Tips on How to Protect Your Medical Practice Against Cyber Attacks
    October 24, 2021
    Health Check Diagnosis Medical Condition Analysis Concept
    6 Health Woes With Online Remedies
    January 19, 2022
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    Eight Things Men Should Know About the Male Menopause
    April 24, 2022
    Latest News
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 2025
    The Best Home Remedies for Migraines
    June 5, 2025
    The Hidden Impact Of Stress On Your Body’s Alignment And Balance
    May 22, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    healthy nursing school habits
    Healthy Habits for Nursing Student Nursing School Students
    May 24, 2024
    High Deductables
    High-Deductible Insurance and Rising Bad Debt
    July 24, 2015
    How People Are Taking Advantage of Health Deals in the Recent Recession
    February 5, 2021
    Latest News
    Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
    June 25, 2025
    When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
    June 20, 2025
    Preventing Contamination In Healthcare Facilities Starts With Hygiene
    June 15, 2025
    Strengthening Healthcare Systems Through Clinical and Administrative Career Development
    June 13, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: The Olympics, Doctors, the NHS, Transformation and Heroes: Why the Difference between the USA and UK? Part II
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Global Healthcare > The Olympics, Doctors, the NHS, Transformation and Heroes: Why the Difference between the USA and UK? Part II
Global Healthcare

The Olympics, Doctors, the NHS, Transformation and Heroes: Why the Difference between the USA and UK? Part II

Kent Bottles
Last updated: August 2, 2012 8:51 am
Kent Bottles
Share
6 Min Read
SHARE

 

 

First posted on Kent Bottles Private Views on 7/30/2012

 

More Read

ai and cybersecurity in healthcare
AI in Healthcare: Balancing Innovation with Cybersecurity
2016 Excellence in Behavioral Health Program Design
Calling for Responsible Healthcare Journalism
Understanding the Legal Aspects of Wrongful Death in Healthcare
Mobile Health Around the Globe: Medic Mobile Uses Mobile Technology to Improve Global Health

 

First posted on Kent Bottles Private Views on 7/30/2012

Like many in the United States, I was surprised when the National Health Service (NHS) was honored during the Opening Ceremonies of the London Olympic Games.  The media guide said, “The NHS is the institution which more than any other unites our nation.  It was founded after World War II on Aneurin Bevan’s famous principle, ‘No society can legitimately call itself civilised if a sick person is denied medical aid because of lack of means.’”  (http://capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org/index.php/2012/07/u-k-national-health-service-gets-gold-medal-mention-at-olympics/)

Should the Bevan principle make Americans think about what makes a society civilized?  Does the American health care delivery system unite our nation?  I could not help thinking back to the Republican Presidential Debate where the audience and Ron Paul seemed to be saying that those without health insurance should be left to die. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T9fk7NpgIU) (http://www.thedoctorweighsin.com/gop-to-uninsured-feel-free-to-drop-dead/) Health care in the United States divides our country into those who believe health care is a human right and those who think it is not.  Paul Starr summarizes this tension by stating:

“Americans are still at odds over the most basic question about health care: whether it is a requirement for a free life that the community has an obligation to provide or a good that needs to be earned (and if you can’t earn it, too bad for you).” (Remedy and Reaction: The Peculiar American Struggle Over Health Care Reform, New Haven:  Yale University Press, 2011)

Starr traces our dilemma back to the establishment of Medicare as an earned right even though seniors have never paid enough in payroll taxes to cover their insurance costs and Medicaid as an unearned benefit that lacks a moral claim on the community.  This history has created a “protected public” who believe they have earned their medical coverage, and they are largely unwilling to subsidize coverage for the less fortunate.  By creating separate health insurance financing for the elderly, the United States created a political problem that has caused partisan bickering.  It is noteworthy that the Supreme Court decision upholding most of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act created a way for governors to elect not to participate in the expansion of the “unearned” benefit of Medicaid.

Although Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell yesterday labeled the American health care delivery system “the finest in the world,” most Americans recognize the status quo as unsustainable, expensive, and unsafe.  Otis Brawley, MD, chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society, has a different take than McConnell:

“Our medical system fails to provide care when care is needed, and fails to stop expensive, often unnecessary and frequently harmful interventions, even in situations when science proves those interventions are the wrong thing to do.”  (How We Do Harm:  A Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America, New York:  St. Martin’s Press, 2012)

Michael L. Millenson reviews the depressing statistics about preventable errors causing death in the United States in an article titled “The Toll of Preventable Errors:  How Many Dead Patients?” According to Millenson, the best estimate comes from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality; 90,000 hospital patients die each year from preventable, treatment-caused injuries. Millenson also cites a 2010 study of hospital error-reduction programs that concluded “harm remain common, with little evidence of widespread improvements.” (http://www.thedoctorweighsin.com/the-toll-of-preventable-errors-how-many-dead-patients/)

A July 20, 2012 article titled “Why Can’t Medicine Seem to Fix Simple Mistakes?” provides an overview of the ongoing patient safety issue in American medicine.

“Time and again reporters have uncovered unfathomable lapses at medical facilities, often resulting in patient injuries and death.  Time and again, hospital officials have put in place solutions that seem ridiculously obvious.  And, inconceivably, the fixes are frequently ignored or ineffective.” (http://www.propublica.org/article/why-cant-medicine-seem-to-fix-simple-mistakes)

The article describes five wrong site surgeries at Rhode Island Hospital, nurses at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center ignoring monitors in six cases where patients died, and the recent death of a 12-year boy from sepsis where important laboratory results were not reported by NYU’s Langone Medical Center.  The article states:

“That’s what’s so difficult to understand about medical mistakes.  It seems inconceivable that nurses and doctors would reuse a syringe on multiple patients or that they would turn down alarms on cardiac monitors after patients at their hospital had died as a result.” (http://www.propublica.org/article/why-cant-medicine-seem-to-fix-simple-mistakes)

In Part III of this blog we will explore why human doctors and nurses do “inconceivable” things.

TAGGED:NHSOlympicsUKUS
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

women dental care
What Is a Smile Makeover and How Much Does It Cost?
Dental health
June 30, 2025
HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps
Top HIPAA-Compliant Messaging Apps for Healthcare Teams
Global Healthcare Policy & Law Technology
June 25, 2025
recovering from injury
Rebuilding After Injury: Path to Physical and Emotional Recovery
News
June 22, 2025
scientist using microscope
When Healthcare Ends, the Legal Process Begins: What Families Should Know About Probate and Medical Estates
Global Healthcare
June 18, 2025

You Might also Like

Will the U.S. Lead on Global Health? Start with Vaccination.

February 17, 2011

A $400,000 Drug and Why It Matters for Global Health

September 26, 2012
medical
BusinessFinanceGlobal HealthcareHealth careHospital AdministrationTechnology

Sustainable Tips For Financial Management In Medical Practice

April 1, 2020

mHealth Summit Conference 2011: Thoughts and Takeaways

December 7, 2011
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?