Chapter 5

Something that stuck out to me was that everyone but the insurance company wants to do as much as they can to feel good after the day is done. By that I mean a patient with prostate cancer isn't going to feel any better psychologically by just sitting and waiting it out like the watchful waiting process is but their going to want to do everything that they can so that at the end of the day they can feel like they've done the most they can for themselves. So in this case most want to take the technology route, because that gives them the feeling that they're doing everything they can rather then waiting and watching, no matter how expensive or neuter results it may give, the patient wants to feel that they're doing something to help themselves. The only thing blocking that in most cases, healthcare. The same thing with doctors, they're not going to feel comfortable until they do and offer every method they can to maximize the patients health, the only thing blocking their way most of the time is the health care of the patient. Technology is giving the doctors better and better chances to save and heal patients but the problem unfortunately is how expensive it is, too "expensive" for health care to cover. The reoccurring factor here being health care not covering barely anything. Sure the insurance company needs to make a profit but in every section (patient,doctor,tech) the insurance company isn't helping any of it in anyway just causing more patients to result to doing nothing because the company won't cover it, along with the doctor who is trying to help as best they can but is held back by the patients insurance company. Nothing will change the mediocre results that America's patients are receiving unless health care changes. The bottom line is that like Wheelan said "soaring costs and mediocre results" is what is killing this countries health care, if you can even call it that.