Has Anyone Seen The HealthCare Documentary "Escape Fire"?

[RobbyR]

Must-see viewing! I saw this documentary on CNN recently, it really opened my eyes to a lot of things about why the system is so messed up. It basically confirmed many of the things I already knew or suspected.

Basically, in this country, healthcare is and has been for a long time now, about money & big pharmacuetical companies getting richer. A woman in the film summed it up best to paraphrase "Healthcare companies don't want you to die, but they don't want you to get better either"....they just want people to stay sick. And the said thing is, its not even the doctors' fault! They are at the mercy of the big money telling them how to run their practices.

The part of the documentary I liked the best was talking about how many doctors feel compelled to not take the time to spend with their patients to understand their unique needs, and instead feel required by their superiors to see as many patients as possible. So in other words, quantity over quality. And many doctors don't want this, but their hands are tied by the system. Can anyone envision 2-minute, yes, 2 minute doctor visits?! Scary thought, but it may be coming to that.

There is little or no holistic approach to medicine in this country's doctors offices or hospitals, the drug companies are cozied up in bed with the doctors and they just throw more drugs at patients without assessing their unique needs thoroughly enough. Sometimes, costly procedures or tests aren't even necessary, and yet they are given out like candy because they system knows that's what brings in the big bills and money.. Pretty lame.

Of course, there are many wonderful good doctors still out there, and I've been lucky to have some, but again, if you're someone with chronic health issues or worse, who wants to only have a 10 minute doctor visit? Not me.

I'd like to see this country ban drug company ads from TV, we and New Zealand are the only countries that have them. And I would like to see hospitals and health  providers allowing the doctors to have MUCH more time with patients. Doctors should be paid on how well a patient responds to treatment for any serious conditions, not merely based on how many patients a doctor sees.

I am a paralegal, and I ask a ton of questions in my everyday life. Asking questions is the way to find out things! But if your doctor is too rushed to spend time answering your questions, then something is VERY wrong.

I recommend anyone who hasn't seen "Escape Fire" to see it! We are very blessed to have the health care we do have in this country, but corporations and big money have hijacked it completely away from the doctors and their patients.

[mecch]

We are very blessed to have the health care we do have in this country, but corporations and big money have hijacked it completely away from the doctors and their patients.

So in fact, you are not so blessed.  About 15% of Americans have no insurance.  Thats about tens of millions. 48 million in 2011.  Are they blessed by the marvelous health care available in the USA?  I don't get it. You spent a long long post detailing things that are wrong with the system, then come out with that "blessed" statement. Why is it Americans can't call a spade a spade.

[buginme2]

You are not blessed because you are on the receiving end of a secular public policy.   You are blessed by the good fortunes you receive from god.  God doesn't dole out healthcare the VA, Medicare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield do...they have nothing to do with god.



Americans do have a fundamental inability to "call a spade a spade."  Maybe it's the whole "American Dream" and how great America is bs that we are fed from a very young age.  It's considered so unpatriotic in many circles to even point out Americas shortcomings that people feel the need to sugar coat them. 

[mecch]

I guess I was playing dumb. I'm sure the point was - American has a lot of top-notch doctors and health facilities....  So in that way, lucky.  But not so lucky because of the obvious cost and access challenges... 

(This is completely unrelated, but reminds me of Rachel Maddows two shows about the Iraq war 10 year anniversary. And even took the trouble to compare it to Vietnam apologists. About how this week the creators of the Iraq war are going out of their way to sugar coat it and justify how important it was to "liberate the Iraqis from tyranny".   Can't, won't ever say, we were wrong, what a shame, what a waste.)