The Treatment Of Medical Practitioners

Katz states, “the conviction that physicians should decide what is best for their patients, and, therefore, that the authority and power to do so should remain bested in them, continued to have deep hold on the practices of the medical profession “(214).

Most American citizens would agree that modern medicine has drastically changed American Society. The progression of medicine has impacted American lives in multiple ways. It has changed how the United States military uses medicine, how American scientists research medicine, and how everyday American citizens use medicine. Just 100 years ago, the people of the time period would not have been able to comprehend the medical advances that today’s society experiences, and what postmodern societies will continue to experience. Over time, the progression of medicine affected American soldiers during times of war, changed how diseases were discovered and treated, and impacted the way 21st century Americans view medicine and medical professionals.

Technological developments, social pressures, government norms and policies all have observed changes that have contributed to a part of success from clinical skills and political perspective, however little has it been helpful towards meeting the needs of patients and entire healthcare team.

The concept of paternalism involves the notion that one person, generally a person in a position of authority, has the right to intervene and override the autonomy of another person. In terms of historical context, medicine is one area in which paternalism has occurred frequently. Throughout the ages, physicians and doctors have been placed in a position of authority in which they acted upon the bodies of their patients without those patients’ full knowledge or understanding. However, there has been a distinct shift in modern times regarding paternalism. With the publication of The Silent World of Doctor and Patient, Jay Katz advocated for a new attention to be given to the autonomous control of the patient. Katz noted that historically speaking,

The logic and principles of medieval medicine shaped those of Modern medicine. Never was there a more efficient method perfected, so much that it remained through history through so many hundreds of years. Today’s concepts of diagnosis, relationships with the church, anatomy, surgery, hospitals and training, and public health were established in the Middle Ages.

It hasn’t changed that the average person doesn’t like to feel pain or be ill. The evolution of medicine from 1776 to 1938 in the United States depended on the knowledge of current diseases and treatment at that time. The major diseases during this time were pneumonia, influenza, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal infections, heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.1 Ironically, much of those diseases still exist today. Over time, the world’s demand for drugs for any type of illness or disease drastically skyrocketed. Was the medicine really working or were people psyched into believing they had an illness? The diagnosis and treatment was incorrect many times, resulting in “shoulda, coulda, and wouldas” when dealing with diagnosis and medicine. Without a scientific basis, medical doctors, such as Benjamin Rush were ineffective with proper treatment, and quacks promoted strange treatments as to say: Yackedy Quack, Don’t Talk Back. By the end of the 20th Century, one could say American medicine was on the rise and researchers and physician were much more respected.

In this essay I will be looking at the different aspects of medicine in the Middle Ages and accessing how the church helped or hindered their development. As there was a lot of unrest at the start of the middle Ages the church is important because it preserved a lot of things. It also provided a way of life, so it was very influential.

The new rules allow patients to participate with all aspect of their healthcare decisions. It focuses on patient’s involvement, decisions, continuous healing and patient control. The new rules are design to meet the patient’s needs. Throughout the years, physicians had more of a paternalistic view with competent patient’s healthcare choices. Even though, the physicians optimal goals is to practice non-maleficence and beneficence care, their knowledge regarding patient’s illness and care paternalistically diminish patient’s autonomy and involvement. The new rules reinforce those principles; it changes patient’s involvement, choices and preferences. It increases transparency, predict patient’s needs, continuity of care among physicians, institute evidence-based decisions and health records access.

The Washington Post reported on June 16, “Once again, the United States has most the expensive, least effective health care system in survey.” It’s apparent that the United States healthcare system is in an economic crisis. Furthermore, the United States healthcare system is not only in economic turmoil, but the social systems currently in place offer little to no future economic resolve for the predicament we are currently situated in. The paradox that seems to have fallen upon American healthcare is that, “The system doesn’t want you to die, but at the same time doesn’t want you to get well.” Heineman (2012) It is bad business. In other words, medicine is a business and I have witnessed this approach towards business in medicine first hand in my over five years of clinical and business experience in the medical field.

An ever growing problem in today's society are “medical advances” that end up not making things better for the user. For example there is an application for a smartphone that lets one take a photo of an injury. However people have to wait a long time for an anonymous person to give back results of a possible life threatening injury. People are shifting from a personal visit with a doctor, that can examine a wound better in person, to behind computer screen projecting inaccurate results. Another repercussion of these apps are that people are not seeing a doctor that they can be personal with and know about their medical past. *****Ray Bradbury had a part in his story where the character Montag faces this, "Neither of

Medicine has been used since ancient times, but it has greatly developed through the centuries. Today, people have doctors, nurses, surgeons, therapists, and many other individuals in the health field. Society’s definition of a healthy lifestyle, and the way people live, has greatly changed, and it has given most people a new perspective on society 's health. Before medications and doctors, people often died, or had no way to recover from illnesses and disease, because there were no cures. Advances in medicine are made every day. These advances could be a new allergy medication, a new vaccine to prevent a deadly disease, or a new way of performing surgeries, but all of these advances have one thing in common: they can save lives and make a better America.

From the colonial era until the early 1800s, healthcare in America could be considered witchcraft. The system was terribly unorganized and unfounded on any science. Physician

In the time period between 1500 and 1800 there were changes in medical theory and philosophy, and while the ideas firmly established at the beginning and end of this period seem quite different on the surface, there are similarities. This is due to new theories incorporating pillars from previously accepted ideas and practices. Major points to take note of in this period are: the extent of improvement in quantity and the quality of medical care, the shifting relationship between theology and medical practice, and how the credibility of ancient medical theory changed.

Written about the structure and culture of biomedical heath care and a society that is attempting to prolong aging, Medicare funding, funding and development of research, and today’s definition of standard care, Sharon Kaufman brings to light the many dilemmas posed to the American health care system. Her ethnographic story, Ordinary Medicine: Extraordinary Treatments, Longer Lives and Where to Draw the Line reveals the booming biomedical research and clinical trials industry, the power held by Medicare and private insurance, and a rapidly changing standard of care once a medical treatment is considered reimbursable. This leads to systematic changes in the standard of care result in a massive amount of pressure being placed upon doctors, patients and families to make an ethically and medically sound decision in refusing or accepting therapy. Kaufman exposes the driving forces behind the expansion of biomedicine, society’s response to the growing industry on a personal and bureaucratic level.

It is evident through ancient writings that forms of healing were present as far back as is recorded. Medicine, healers and forms of payment seem to have played an important role in the past, like they do now. However, over the centuries changes have taken place. From the time of Galen in ancient Rome to the 14th and 15th centuries in England the relationships between doctors and patients have evolved, along with the way medicine is defined and practiced. Specifically I would like to focus on forms of payment and their effect on the doctor-patient relationship and how payment and the practice of medicine have changed over time. These changes led to a healer-patient relationship that was not as