Health Care Documentary Analysis

In “The American Health Care Paradox”, Elizabeth H. Bradley and Lauren A. Taylor explore why the American health care system achieves mediocre results, despite spending a higher percentage of its gross domestic product than any other country in the world on health care. They explain that health care is more than just getting medical treatment, but there are social factors that affect a person 's health. The authors claim that more government spending on medical treatments is not the solution to the health care paradox, but we should focus more on social needs that have a greater impact on health. Case studies and interviews with physicians, other health care providers, and social service providers are used to support the authors’ claims. Though the authors do not explicitly state the path they believe the American health care system should follow, they give examples of foreign health care systems and domestic health care projects that may point in the right direction.

It is no secret that the cost of American healthcare is becoming increasingly more expensive. However, the issue of the rising cost of healthcare and its severity needs to be recognized as a major problem. Health prices are steadily increasing in the United States, and there is no sign of it stopping. Since 1970, spending on American health care has grown 9.8%, which is a rate that is growing faster than the economy (“New Technology”.) Furthermore, health insurance premiums are also increasing at a rate five times faster than American salaries, which makes it difficult for families to afford health care coverage (Zuckerman 28). Therefore, it has become an obligation to address why the cost of American health care is soaring and to seek out a solution to lower the cost. Many would jump to the conclusion that the United States simply charges too much for their medical services, but there are deeper influences that need to be analyzed. The causes of the rising cost of health care are people not using preventive health care, the development of modern technology, and the treatments being overprescribed. A possible solution is to have preventive health care services available in clinics of low-income areas.

The documentary Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare explains the numerous controversies in our healthcare system and where the system is going if it follows the same footsteps it has been taking for the past decade. Throughout the documentary there are many hosts in which they all give their personal insight on the American Healthcare System and how the system is failing and on the verge to a catastrophic breakdown. All of the hosts gathered their data through personal research that they did on the system and from working in their perspective fields over the years and just seeing the trends the healthcare system is taking and going towards.

The movie fire escape emphasizes that America has the most expensive health care system in the world but is not one of the best in regards to healthcare outcomes and life expectancy. It spends more than what the whole world all together spends on pharmaceutical industry. 75% of the 2.7 trillion dollars were spent on treating preventable diseases which indicate that US health care is more focused towards disease management than prevention. The movie makes a point that there are frequent readmissions and 80% of health care budget goes towards these 20% patients who are frequently readmitted to the hospital due to an existing chronic condition. Health care professionals are paid on the basis of number of procedures carried out on the patient rather than their health outcome. So the focus is not on curing the disease by eliminating the risk factors but merely managing the disease and looking for quick fixes. That is how patients want it too. They want to be cured right away with a pill or surgery but are not really interested in learning the long term solutions and preventative measures.

Throughout the movie, the authors identified troubling faults and failures of the current system. These included the lack of appropriate coverage, the undressing push for finance over health care quality, unsustainable costs, unethical business transactions and risks, the failure of healthcare in the United States to address the underlying issue of disease processes and the commonality of treating symptoms verse the cause.

Consequently the U.S. spends more money than any other country on health care, and the medical care that is being provided may be compromised. Research has shown that the lack of health care insurance compromises a person’s health. However, there continues to be unnecessary death every year in the U.S. due to lack of health care

The movie Escape Fire clearly states the facts that currently affect the healthcare system in the U.S. and proposes solutions that are at our reach as individuals, as a community and as a country. We are a country that sets the tone for almost everything that is popular in the world and something as necessary to our livelihood as healthcare is, we certainly are not on top of how to set that tone in that aspect that should be as popular as the air we breathe. We have the ability to change the game as it is suggested in the movie, and persuade the behavior changes necessary for all Americans to make in order to control the management of diseases culture that we are currently in and turn it into a

Contrary to what many people believe, America’s health status is not quite “up-to-par,” to say the least. Over forty-seven million people in the United States lack health insurance; that is more than 15% of our nation’s population! At first this disturbing truth seems impossible to believe, being as America is one of the most technologically advanced and economically developed countries in the world. “We spend trillions of dollars per year on medical care. That’s nearly half of all the health dollars spent in the world. But we’ve seen our statistics. We live shorter, often sicker lives than almost every other industrialized nation. “We rank 30th in [global] life expectancy” (Adelman 2008). Knowing this brings rise to the question: why are

Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel.

There are many problems with healthcare in America today. One of them including the astronomical cost. According to CDC.ORG in 2007 the average person spends seven thousand four hundred dollars per year on health care alone. This rise in healthcare is extremely detrimental for families, seniors, and people of all ages. With such a high cost of insurance people are forced to make hard choices in

The documentary of the American Academy of Pediatrics states that some studies have reported that adolescents use popular music to identify with their feelings and to take control of their mood. The documentary states that popular music provides the means to solve insignificant conflicts that are related to their developmental stage. Due to the increase number of electronic devices, such as iPods and other devices that require the use of headphones, parents might not know to what their children are listening to. The documentary mentions that number of research have proved that regardless of the age, there is a connection between music and emotions. It also mentions that several reports have proved that certain type of music, such as music

In conclusion, the film “Sick around the World,” displayed how behind the United States healthcare system really is. I am excited for the new innovations to take place and I know that once the reform actually takes place many more will follow. I believe the United States will end up copying

This movie went around the world to different countries to show the comparisons and differences in healthcare compared to each other and the U.S. The first country that was visited was the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom spends 8.3% of their GDP on healthcare. The citizens pay nothing for premiums, all of it is paid trough taxation. Some services require co-pay, but all young people and all elderly are exempt from drug co-pays. The United Kingdom calls their healthcare system “socialized medicine”; the government provides for and pays for all healthcare. The taxes that Britons pay gets distributed up to different healthcare providers. Since the United Kingdoms’ system is taxed,

Michael Moore depicts the American health care system as one that contains many flaws. He goes on to show different people who have not been able to afford the ridiculous sum of money to perform certain procedures. While scrutinizing the American health care system Michael ventures to Canada, France, Cuba and Great Britain in an attempt to compare health insurance and pharmaceuticals.

The Waiting Room is a 2012 documentary film and social media project directed by Peter Nicks that follows the life and times of patients, doctors, and staff at Highland Hospital , a safety-net hospital in Oakland, California. The project includes a blog which features stories and conversations from the waiting room as well as behind-the-scenes information about the project. Frequent video updates from the project are posted on the blog. These videos examine what life is like in an American public hospital caring for a community of largely uninsured patients. Many hospitals and health systems provide charity care for uninsured individuals when they require acute care, but the most forward thinking ones are also concerned with caring for this