Is our healthcare system broken?

From Digital Culture & Society

Robert H. Shmerling, M. (2021, July 13). Is our healthcare system broken?. Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-our-healthcare-system-broken-202107132542

Contents 1 Article 2 Context: 3 Overview: 4 Strengths and Weaknesses: 5 Assessment:

[edit] Article

https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/is-our-healthcare-system-broken-202107132542

[edit] Context:

The main goal of this article is to highlight various ways in which the current American healthcare system is flawed. The purpose of this article is to present multiple arguments to back up this claim, bringing up issues such as the high cost of healthcare, funding going into suboptimal places, and the difficulty of access. While the issue of expensive but average quality of healthcare is brought up in this article, it also focuses on some other issues that contribute to the flawed state of American healthcare such as investments not necessarily going into the places that need it or the issues some Americans have with getting access to healthcare.

[edit] Overview:

This article mainly focuses on bringing up various arguments as to why the American healthcare system is flawed. The first major argument the article talks about is the cost of healthcare and how in addition to it being expensive to the point where having a serious illness can put someone in serious financial trouble, the healthcare on offer isn’t of the highest quality for the cost. As a result, there are many Americans paying high prices for subpar healthcare, which has caused them to search elsewhere for healthcare. The next major arguing point the article makes is in regards to how Americans struggle to gain access to healthcare because it’s tied to their employment, meaning that getting laid off or fired can cause serious issues with regards to healthcare. Healthcare also denies and delays access to people who can’t afford it, even if they really need it. The last the article brings attention to is how investments seem to be going into areas that don’t necessarily need it, such as prioritizing technology and specialty care over focusing on preventive care and how doctors aren’t taught as much on aspects like nutrition or mental health. The article ends with the author saying how a way Americans have opted to get around some of these issues is to simply get the help they need from a different country with better prices, which highlights how flawed the system is if people have to turn to other countries in order to get better care. The author fixing the system isn’t easy, but a possible solution is to adopt other healthcare practices from other countries.

[edit] Strengths and Weaknesses:

To bring up this article’s strengths, the author does provide various sources to back up their claims about the American healthcare system being broken. The information provided is broken up neatly into sections and the arguments brought up are easy to understand where someone with little knowledge on the subject can get a good idea of the authors intentions. Another strength of the article is that since the author is a doctor himself, adds a bit of credibility as this is a topic the author has experience in and is knowledgeable about. In terms of weaknesses, while the author does make good arguing points that are easy to understand, some of their points could’ve been elaborated further.

[edit] Assessment:

In conclusion, this article succeeds in its goal of pointing out major issues within the American healthcare system by pointing out key issues such as the high cost for subpar service, issues surrounding access to healthcare, and investing in areas that it doesn’t necessarily need to. The article provides multiple reasons to support each argument and the information is presented in a way that is easy to understand and a decent starting point for readers looking to dive into this topic.

Sr20fj 20:23, 1 December 2023 (EST)