Google has established an Advisory Council for health-related googling. There are 20-something people on the Council, but no nurses and no psychiatrists (as far as I can tell... at least, no one is clearly representing these constituencies).
Of course, you cannot put together such a group without others complaining that they didn't get a seat at the table. Make the table too big, and it is hard to get things done.
But, given the fact that one of the main medical areas that folks do searches about is psychiatry and mental health, they need a web-savvy shrink (I'll volunteer ;-). And nurses are the infrastructure that supports today's health care system. The U.S. system does need fixing, but would completely collapse without nurses. They need a seat, too.
How do I vote for you?
ReplyDeleteDinah, Roy & Clink - just wondering if you've seen Michael Moore's Sicko, and if so, what you thought... I saw it tonight, but will post about it in the morning... Would love to hear your thoughts about it.
ReplyDeletePlease do not believe everything you will see in Sicko. Wait times in Cdn ERs stretch into the several hours. Gurneys line the hallways of the hospitals because there is a chronic bed shortage. Many areas have serious doctor shortages and if your G.P. retires, good luck finding another; many are not accepting new patients. People wind up in walk in clinics where you find all sorts of docs, from those who know what they are doing but need the extra work, to those who obviously just scraped by med school. Yes, we have universal health care but it is ironic that due to tremendous wait times, patients are often sent to the US for treatment. People with means often go to the US and pay out of pocket big time, by choice. In that sense, we already have a two tier system of private and public. Our docs are seriously underpaid. We do not live in a utopia by any means.
ReplyDeleteRemember that Moore is the same guy who made another documentary that had plenty of Americans believing that we do not lock our doors. Well, we lock them and alarm our houses and the security business is doing well.
Anonymous,
ReplyDeleteI'm Canadian, so for sure I'm taking everything I saw last night with a grain of salt.
I'm lucky enough to get the health care here that I need - and not sit on the waiting lists to do so. I've waited in Emerg upwards of 18 hours at times. A neighbour of my grandmother died of congestive heart failure while waiting in the hallway of an emergency room. Clearly there are problems - and I live in the biggest city in the country.
There are obviously good things about universal health care - I just haven't figured them out yet...
The current state of affairs would have Tommy Douglas rolling over in his grave, assuming he wasn't cremated. The idea of universal health care, insuring everyone irrespective of the means to pay, is a great IDEA. It just hasn't been working out so well.
ReplyDeleteFor 24 fans, Tommy is also sometimes known as the grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland.