Michael Jackson in the Health Care Debate
posted by Heather GartmanTuesday, July 7th, 2009
I was reminded this morning of how quickly a seemingly non-related story can be turned into a case study in the healthcare debate.
With Michael Jackson everywhere in the news since his death, I guess it should come as no surprise. However, it was a surprise for me when I turned on the news this morning and they were discussing the whole notion of concierge medicine. The question? Whether what Michael Jackson had, a personal doctor, is really the best care a patient can get. I always thought that the more personal care you could get from a doctor, the better your healthcare would be. But after listening to the debate, it appears there is a fine line.
Personal doctors’ whole source of income comes from one to a few patients, and because of this, they may want to do everything they can to make their patients happy. That may include prescribing drugs or tests that patients want but may not absolutely need. Physicians, who have the confidence of the American people on issues of healthcare reform, are speaking out more and more frequently about the business aspect of private practice.
Patient access to information and resources varies. Those of us involved in health communications know that sharing health information across different media channels and through different voices remains critical. We need to be vigilant about staying on top of the moving pieces in the healthcare debate and how they can influence consumer health coverage. It’s no longer a question of whether there is a health policy connection to a consumer story – it’s a question of what is the connection, and what should we do to prepare for it.
