Physicians Should be a Priority

In 2021, after the pandemic, the U.S. physician burnout rate reached an all-time high of 62.8%. Physicians continue to be overworked by a grueling system that is working to help other people’s health, yet has minimal consideration for the health of its workers. Physicians are subject to long hours, booked with patients to the maximum, and expected to do everything as quickly as possible. Physicians are trained to complete everything perfectly. This creates a perfectionist mindset for physicians and a very high standard for themselves. We usually talk about physician burnout from the outside and that they are being given too much work for an insufficient number of people. However, we forget to think about how physicians look at things and their mentalities. The healthcare system sets a very high expectation for quality care and if physicians strive to be perfect in everything they do, this can lead to depressive factors. They are humans, after all, it is hard for anyone to do everything perfectly and when they don't reach the expectations they may look down on themselves.   

Governmental bodies such as the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), should look to implement policies restricting physician scheduling and workload. These policies could focus on things such as: placing a hard limit on the number of patients physicians can see per week; creating standardized required time-off for physicians; implementing nationwide mental health services tailored to physicians. Implementing policies that focus on physicians’ well-being would help alleviate future burnout. Frequently, burnout is caused due to being overworked and a lack of resources for physicians. Future policies should focus on these two things in ensuring that there are rules and standardizations that prevent physicians from being overworked while providing them with their own healthcare resources. However, this is not a solution to the issue by itself. Healthcare systems need to focus on the culture within their organizations. Priorities and values within these cultures, such as treating as many patients as possible, are also big causes of physician burnout. Healthcare systems in the future should work to foster values that prioritize physician well-being. Hopefully, sooner than later physicians will be able to feel the same benefits of the healthcare system they are the foundation of.

There’s More to Health Insurance Issues than on the Surface

Education rates are directly related to higher health outcomes as it has been proven that higher education levels can lead to healthier lifestyle choices and a better understanding of health determinants. It is frequently noted that there is disparity in education rates between different socioeconomic and racial groups that can impact this. However, an education issue that is present amongst all groups of people that is yet to be addressed, is a lack of knowledge about healthcare insurance. With how convoluted our healthcare system is and the numerous insurance types with highly complex policies, many people do not understand what they are paying for or what might be their best option. This mainly stems from a lack of standardized education regarding insurance policies and educational resources. As a result, many people purchase the wrong healthcare policy options for them and can lose a lot of money. Or some people may just avoid figuring out what healthcare policy to get in the first place. Either way, it is causing thousands of people to overspend on healthcare insurance or to miss out on necessary care.

A basic understanding of the different insurance types is something that all people should be entitled to if it is in their early education or easily accessible resources. While higher socioeconomic groups are still affected by this, the issue is much more prevalent amongst lower socioeconomic groups. There are online resources, however, many lower socioeconomic groups have a harder time accessing these resources due to a lack of technological infrastructure or they may get a lower level of education. To facilitate a better understanding of healthcare insurance knowledge, local call and help centers should be set up. The government can work with cities, towns and NGOs to set up these help centers. These centers will have experts on healthcare insurance and can help explain the different types and policies to individuals. A survey conducted by the Harris Poll on healthcare insurance knowledge of 1,040 full-time and part-time employees found that 72% of employees wished that someone would tell them the best health insurance policy for them. These types of centers can bridge technological and educational gaps by providing a more personal and accessible experience. This can be accompanied with an initiative to introduce basic education into high school health classes regarding insurance policies. Health classes often talk about the physical body, but many do not touch upon the care people are receiving to begin with. Both of these together will be able to help people to pick healthcare insurance policies that are the most affordable and cost-saving for them and will increase their access to healthcare. 

It’s Time to End the “Business” that Healthcare has Become

The U.S. claims to have one of the best medical systems in the world, yet the leading cause of bankruptcy in the U.S. is medical bills. Quite self contradictory isn’t it? Or maybe not when you realize that healthcare has become primarily a business in the U.S. These high costs of healthcare in our country have created large barriers to access to healthcare in our nation which has prevented a lot of people from getting the healthcare they need. It can be hard for individuals who fall in the category of being ineligible for Medicaid, but not wealthy enough to afford private insurance or care if they are not covered by their employer. Or copays or insurance premiums might be too much for other people to be able to routinely get the care they need. Hospitals charge individuals thousands of dollars for visits sometimes just for simple tasks. This frequently comes back to a hospital’s chargemaster which is a document that contains all of a hospital’s prices for all of their services. Hospitals can easily manipulate these and are able to charge patients large amounts of money which makes healthcare inaccessible to some.

What good is healthcare when not everyone can access it? Healthcare has drifted away from its main purpose in our country and is no longer about actually helping people. While many hospitals may be private companies, this does not mean they should have full reign over such an important human necessity. I believe that policies should be implemented that will place restrictions on hospitals from charging such high prices. There should be rules that create a maximum charge for certain services or a base requirement. This can be tedious and a lot of work, but it can make healthcare more standardized and fair rather than a transactional relationship. This may seem like regulation over an industry at first, but the benefits for the people of the U.S. will be much better. Individuals will not have to worry as much about not being able to get care because of not being able to afford high prices. This will take down major access to healthcare and improve the lives of thousands of people. Moreover, taking the control out of these private company’s hands and placing it back in the hands of the people will make healthcare more about humans once again and not money. It is important that we have a society where individuals feel like they are able to get help for their issues without going into debt. We all live in this country together and it is important that we make healthcare a system in which people feel safe and protected rather than vulnerable and used. 

The Pandemic Taught Us About Preparing and it is Time to Apply This

Humans have been using vaccines for over 200 years since smallpox and continue to use them. Since 2020 vaccines have become a widely discussed topic creating a lot of controversy. Vaccines are very important and helpful for protecting the general population’s health, but this does not mean vaccines don’t come along worry free. Mainly the distribution of vaccines and the availability of them has been a major issue with them and this is currently being highlighted by the Monkeypox outbreak. There have been widespread vaccine shortages and cities have been struggling to distribute them and especially to those in most need. This mainly stems from the government being slow to order the vaccines when cases started to pop up which has delayed the entire process itself. So while the cases continue to rise the government is attempting to keep up with the doses available, but it is struggling to keep up. On top of this there are barriers to getting the vaccine itself that mainly pose issues for the LGBQT+ community. They are often required to answer very personal questions about their sexual life which can discourage individuals from getting a vaccine. Also, many have been blocked from getting it due to city issues or availability. This is very alarming because the cases continue to rise, but the amount of people who are struggling to get the vaccine is rising just as fast.

This makes one wonder, did the U.S. government not learn from the Covid-19 pandemic? We saw what neglecting a disease in other countries and waiting until it came to us did to the country. It has killed over a million people and created chaos in our country. Yet we find ourselves in a similar situation only 2 years later. People are struggling to get vaccines and the country did not properly plan for another major disease outbreak. While the CDC has plans and strategies developed for issues like this, they are clearly not working very well. The National Pandemic Strategy was made in 2005 and some parts of it have not been updated since 2016. Clearly a lot has changed and the CDC should take the time to revise their strategies to be better prepared for the future. It should adopt plans that increase international collaboration with other countries to better understand disease outbreaks from their origins and begin to estimate the potential for impact on the U.S. This can help the country anticipate possible outbreaks and begin preparing not when the disease hits, but before it even reaches us. By waiting until we get hit with a disease it leaves us in a scramble as more and more people get sick. If there were protocols in place that required the CDC to develop a strategy and plan to deal with an outbreak, then it can be administered as soon as we get hit. This would mitigate the risk, prevent more people from getting sick, hence saving lives. It is important that our government’s health departments begin using the experiences from previous outbreaks to continuously revise and improve our strategies and plans for the future. In the case of the Monkeypox outbreak, taking note of its quick spread in other countries and lack of vaccines the U.S. could have been better prepared. Rather than putting in massive orders for vaccines now and making people wait, they could have been ready with some doses to jumpstart everything. History is a very telling and informative experience and the government should use this to make our disease outbreak strategies and policies as efficient and organized as possible.

Are We Moving Back or Are We Moving Forward?

The gun violence epidemic in the U.S. faded away during the pandemic, but we can see it worsening once again before our very own eyes. It has gotten to the point where it may not even be safe for children to go to elementary school. There are a plethora of causes to the issue, but they all lead back to one thing: gun policies. Simply put, gun control policies are not strict enough in many states and this has allowed for guns to get into the hands of people with mal intentions. In this post, I’m specifically going to talk about the recent decision in the case of, New York State Rifle INC. and Pistol Association vs Bruen, Superintendent of New York State Police, which may have caused a setback in the issue. The court decided that, New York’s law requiring individuals who want to openly carry a concealed gun have to prove proper cause, violated the 2nd amendment. Proper cause means that individuals need to prove they are facing safety threats and need a gun on themselves in public. The court made its decision based on principles from the late 1700s and early 1800s regarding gun use. These principles are very outdated as back then individuals could not walk around with an AR-15. 

Open carry leads to up to 15% more gun violence over time and only makes the issue more prevalent in certain communities. Why do we regress on an issue when we see children dying at school weekly? While the law may have been inconsistent with the Constitution, it was struck down based on principles that date back centuries. People back then did not account for mass shootings in schools, malls and parades with assault rifles. While it is important to stick close to our Constitution, it is also important to take into consideration how times have changed and that we need to adapt with them. The decision in this case represents an issue within a bigger issue of our country not willing to update the basis of our laws to more modern times. We continue to base decisions regarding the present based on ideals from the 1700s. We are watching innocent people die daily at the hands of this epidemic and not making much meaningful change and even setting certain policies back. In order to save lives and make our country safer, at all levels from the supreme court to lawmakers to states to local governments to citizens we need to begin working on more bi-partisan approaches. The 2nd amendment should be respected, but as we can see that the issue has evolved into something that requires stricter laws to ensure peoples’ safety.

How the Covid-19 Pandemic Sparked Mental Health Awareness

I’m sure everyone remembers that feeling they had when they found out we were all entering lockdown. We were all asking ourselves, what do we do now? How long are we going to be here of? And the list of questions keeps going. I remember I first asked myself, how am I not going to insane? I could not imagine staying locked in the house indefinitely and limited to four or five activities. While some people might have found the free time and isolation liberating or peaceful, some people were fighting to make it through.

During the pandemic 1 in 5 adults in America said that the pandemic had an impact on their mental health. Millions of people lost their jobs when Covid-19 struck and they lost a sense of structure, routine and belonging. Others who may have seen outside life as an escape from some of their troubles were now locked into the house. People were forced to lose their ways of life and find new restricted ones or had everything taken away from them. This may have been extremely difficult for those already suffering from mental health issues. By being confined to their homes this made it hard for individuals suffering to battle their issues and heal because of the confinement and restrictions. Moreover, those who lost their jobs may have experienced anxiety, stress and a multitude of other issues which all can contribute to worsening mental health. Putting situations like this together this exponentially raised rates of anxiety and depression to 65% and 61% among U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 which was six times higher than the 2019 rates (BC News). 

All of this did, however, make people realize that having mental health issues is ok and the stigma around it needs to be eradicated. People saw they were not alone and that other people around them were dealing and suffering with similar issues. This sparked many social media campaigns as people began to raise more awareness for mental health issues. Communities started to realize that some people were fighting battles internally and we needed to band together and show them it’s ok and provide them with the resources they need. We began to normalize getting hep and destigmiazting the issue while seeking resources. Now dialogue surrounding mental health is much more open and promoting positivity. Simultaneously, it has also revealed issues regarding our healthcare system and mental health. We learned in 2020 that “governments worldwide spent on average just over 2% of their health budgets on mental health” (WHO). This has all prompted our communities to take more initiative on mental health issues on helping those suffering by providing themw ith the resoruces they need and making them feel comfortable. While many people may have suffered in the beginning from the Covid-19 lockdown, this helped bring to light an issue that has long been mishandled and misunderstood. As a result, thousands of people have been able to get the help they need while improving their mental health.