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
    first aid guide
    A Deep Dive into First Aid and CPR Certification
    February 19, 2024
    back pain
    No More Aches! A Guide To Effective Back Pain Relief
    March 28, 2024
    workplace first aid
    First Aid Training Can Improve Workplace Health & Safety
    June 27, 2024
    Latest News
    Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
    July 20, 2025
    How Probate Planning Shapes the Future of Your Estate and Family Care
    July 17, 2025
    Beyond Nutrition: Everyday Foods That Support Whole-Body Health
    June 15, 2025
    The Wide-Ranging Benefits of Magnesium Supplements
    June 11, 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
    healthcare literacy
    Are You Health Literate?
    July 4, 2012
    Patient Power in Indiana
    December 9, 2011
    2/365 teenage pregnancy
    Make IUDs and Implants More Affordable and Accessible for Teens
    September 25, 2012
    Latest News
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
    How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
    July 17, 2025
    How communities and healthcare providers can address slip and fall injuries with legal awareness
    July 17, 2025
    Let Your Lawyer Handle the Work Before You Pay Medical Costs
    July 6, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: What Can We Learn from the UK Health System?
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 > What Can We Learn from the UK Health System?
BusinessGlobal HealthcarePolicy & Law

What Can We Learn from the UK Health System?

Anne Weiler
Anne Weiler
Share
5 Min Read
SHARE

uk health systemsThere’s no perfect health system in the world, at least not that we’ve heard of. The US is plagued by high costs and uneven coverage across the country. Other systems like those in Canada and the UK have long wait times and can be glacially slow to adopt new technologies (aka pilotitis). However, taking a closer look into those systems can provide an interesting alternate viewpoint.

uk health systemsThere’s no perfect health system in the world, at least not that we’ve heard of. The US is plagued by high costs and uneven coverage across the country. Other systems like those in Canada and the UK have long wait times and can be glacially slow to adopt new technologies (aka pilotitis). However, taking a closer look into those systems can provide an interesting alternate viewpoint.  We’ve recently been turned on to the Inside Health podcast from the BBC, where topics range from those of national healthcare administration and benefits to specific health issues. Unlike many health publications, Inside Health frequently features patients talking about their experiences with the system.

Here’s a snapshot of questions posed on recent episodes:

  • Should medical screening with MRIs and CT scans be done proactively? This session talked about the risk of over-screening patients who are not visibly ill. While early detection is key to catch and treat many types of cancer, the screens often catch issues like tumors that would have gone away on their own, and therefore cause undue stress, cost, and discomfort to patients.
  • Should fruit juice be removed from food guidelines? Citing that calories that are drunk rather than eaten are not recognized by the body (aka empty calories) and that most fruit juice has all the fiber (aka the best part of the fruit) removed, the guest argued that fruit juice should not be part of the 5-6 services of fruit and vegetables recommended per day.
  • How should private hospitals be regulated? This story was particularly interesting, as it seems that the many private hospitals that are cropping up to take excess demand from the UK’s National Health Service, are not regulated in the same way as government-run hospitals. In this episode they examined some cases of knee and hip replacements gone wrong due to the lack of proper follow-on care. Since private often denotes more expensive and hopefully better quality it was curious to hear that they were not following standards.
  • Should healthcare professionals be fit? This controversial question was asked about whether healthcare professionals should be held to higher health standards, especially with respect to obesity, to set a good example for patients.
  • Should doctors be paid based on specific quality measures? This segment examined financial incentives for primary care physicians to complete certain tests and concluded that doctors will ignore financial incentives if they don’t believe the tests are in the best interests of the patients. However, in the example they cited, the incentive was $50 for doing a standard depression screening test which might be argued is not enough compensation for the hassle of the additional charting and follow up that the depression screen would have caused, not to mention the impact on patients who might not have actually been depressed.

You may notice a slightly paternalistic (or is that maternalistic?) bent to these topics, which is understandable as the UK has a national health system. However, all of them are topical and relevant to discussion occurring in the US right now. (Remember the uproar over soda sizes in New York?) Segments are short and conversational and feature real patients. Plus they are all delivered with the dulcet tones of the BBC broadcasters so you feel smarter just by listening. If you’re looking for insight, and inquiry in healthcare, this is a great podcast to add to your list.

More Read

23andMe FDA warning
BioPharma Beat: 23andMe – Now What?
Affordable Care: Your Prospective Patients Are Mighty Confused
Seeing Beyond the Physician’s Words to Their Hearts
Implementing Data To Increase Employee Engagement In Healthcare
The Importance of Keeping Patient Information Secure
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share
By Anne Weiler
Follow:
Anne Weiler is CEO and co-founder of Wellpepper, a clinically-validated and award winning platform for patient engagement that enables health systems to track patient outcomes in real-time against their own protocols and personalize treatment plans for patients. Wellpepper patients are over 70% engaged. Prior to Wellpepper, Anne was Director of Product Management at Microsoft Corporation.

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

botox certification
Help Improve People’s Skin Health Via Botox Certification
Skin Specialties
July 22, 2025
Telemedicine Apps
Why Custom Telemedicine Apps Outperform Off‑the‑Shelf Solutions
Health
July 20, 2025
Grounded Healing: A Natural Ally for Sustainable Healthcare Systems
How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
Global Healthcare Policy & Law
July 17, 2025
paramedics in surgical gloves and masks
How Health Choices and Legal Actions Intersect After an Injury
Health care
July 16, 2025

You Might also Like

email marketing in healthcare
Marketing

Harnessing the Power of Email Marketing in Healthcare

October 26, 2023
Image
Medical Education

How to Educate and Empower Patients: Thoughts From an Expert

February 26, 2014

Henry Ford Health System Stakes Its Future on Health Innovation

July 2, 2014
hospice care
BusinessHospital AdministrationUncategorized

Understanding the Ins and Outs of Hospice Management

May 17, 2021
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?