1800s Health Care Research Paper

In 18th century America, medicine was in a transition mode. While some pre-modern practices were still around, the 18th century saw the beginnings of a new modern medical practice. Replacing the passed down wisdom from the ancient world was clinical observation, the first American medical school, and experimental science, along with many physicians beginning to replace midwives. During the 18th century, a transition from pre-modern practices and theories to modern medical practice occurred because of medical education and the growth of hospitals, advances in medical procedures, and different types of medical practitioners.

In the preindustrial era, 1800s, the United States fell behind other countries in health services. There was no medical training until around 1870 (Shi & Singh, 2013). Medical training began with students training under the supervision of physicians. Physicians saw patients by making house calls. Health care was delivered in a free market (Shi & Singh, 2013). No one had insurance so costs were out of pocket. For most Americans, this was a problem and some rural areas relied on folk medicine to heal the sick. The medical institutions during this era were not sanitized properly and nurses were not trained to practice safety and hygiene care. The government provided facilities for elderly, chronically ill patients, and clinics that offered free care.

healthier lives. Breakthroughs such as penicillin and the polio vaccination extended life expectancy by leaps and bounds. In 1948, the National Institutes of Health was created with federal support for continued research. One of the drawbacks of advanced medical techniques meant that treatment was more expensive and not shared by all classes of people. This later brought about the creation of Medicare in 1965 for the ageing population and Medicaid for the lower class and jobless.

The delivery of the U.S. healthcare system has changed drastically over the years from the inception of organized healthcare to today’s underdeveloped system. Prior to the 1920’s,

Medieval medicine was rooted in Ancient Greek practices. In 65 A.D., a Greek writer, Discorides, wrote a book, Material Medica. The book is about medical use of over five-hundred different plants. The book is translated into Hebrew and Arabic. Doctors in the Early Modern Era knew very little, and they used plants as the most important care and/or treatment. Due to unsanitary places and tools, many different diseases spread around Europe. Life was challenging during the Early Modern Era because of many diseases(Alchin). During the 1500s- 1600s, diseases overtook many people because doctors knew little, medicine was unknown, and there were many causes.

In the late 1800's the Healthcare System was just in the infancy stages of becoming what it is today. The importance in relation to U.S is that if no one pioneered, created, and helped developed what the system is now we'd still be backwards in late 1800 thinking where bone saws were allowed ,

There are four evolutionary phases in healthcare. The first phase was the preindustrial era, which started in the middle 18th century to the beginning of the 19th century. At this time, American medicine was not developing as fast as other countries; in Britain, France, and Germany, medical science and research was much more advanced than America. The postindustrial era began in the late 19th century, physicians in America were becoming more successful than others in the world. The third phase was the corporate era, which was marked by the growth of managed care, organizational integration, the information revolution and globalization. Finally, the fourth phase is the one in which we are in today, it is still fairly new and is characterized by the health care reform, which was brought about by the Affordable Care Act.

What aspects and characteristics of American health care of the 18th and 19th centuries have had a major impact on shaping today’s U.S. health care system?”

Healthcare industry in United States has been an important industry for a long time. It is one such industry that has representation from both public sector and private sector. The current health care system is segregated and fragmented in America. Some states have very effective and efficient healthcare system while some states lack the desired infrastructure. The evolution of healthcare system in USA can be traced back to 1750. The period from 1750 to 1849 is termed as preindustrial period where the care of sick people was primarily handled by families (Brian, 2010). The period of 1850 to 1969 is termed as postindustrial period which reflects the growth of organized medicine and systematic healthcare delivery.

Healthcare in the United States during the early 1900s through the World Wars would be described as “evolved”. The healthcare system has evolved from what healthcare used to be during the 1700s – 1800s; during this period, the healthcare system faced many challenges: lack of basic care available, high rate of mortality, disease epidemics and unhealthy living and working conditions. As we bypass this era, we’ve come to find that during the 1900s through the World Wars led to a more organized approach with technology and healthcare.

The improvement of medicine over the course of the human successes gave great convenience to the people of today. Science has cured and prevented many illnesses from occurring and is on its way to cure some of the most dreadful and harmful illnesses. As the world modernizes due to the industrialization, so does the ways of medicine. Some cures are approached by chance, some, through intense, scientific measures.

Healthcare and access to healthcare has grown more in that past 30 years than possible any period of time in history. The first hospitals in America were built in the 1850’s, this marked the beginning of organized healthcare in America (Williams & Torrens, 2008). The primary focus during this period of time was that of public health. Attention was paid to epidemics of infections and diseases that affected large numbers of individuals. One such disease was tuberculosis. In the latter portion of the 1800’s institutional care facilities were built for the treatment of tuberculosis (Kellner, 1999). The sanatorium as these were called differed from the traditional hospital. In the traditional hospital for the time services were offered for

Healthcare didn’t always exist in the United States. Before the 1920’s, most people didn’t have health coverage. Most people were treated at home and hardly anyone, except a few large employers offered healthcare. Everyone else paid out of pocket. As the population shifted from rural areas to urban centers, families lived in smaller homes with less room to care for sick family members (Faulkner 1960, p. 509). Increasing requirements for licensing and accreditation, in addition to a rising demand for medical care, eventually led to rising costs. By the end of 1920s, there was an increased demand for medical care and the costs of medical care increased.

The history of paramedicine is extensive and full of numerous breakthroughs and advances. It is important to understand its history to better appreciate how far paramedicine has come as a profession. Understanding the advances of paramedicine throughout history also helps us to better appreciate and acknowledge the transition of paramedic practice from the basic response it once was to the comprehensive role it is today.

On December 1921, in an Arab village, a pandemic of smallpox broke out. The colonial medicine historians have shown that colonial medicine, that helped find a cure for smallpox, took over a city within a more expansive empire. However, health was not diminished, but rather needful for colonial development. The colonial medicine was concerned more so with maintaining the health of Europeans because they were viewed importantly to the colonial project's success. Some decided to take parts from the blister of a sick person and purposely infected healthy individuals. An aspect of this, was that colonial governments usually did little to no work on building up the rural health services for the general populations. Rural services were run by