Friday, January 18, 2008

Whose health is it anyway?

Got healthcare? I have trouble with the language we use that is deliberately oppositional and deceitful in nature. "Healthcare" is something each individual is responsible for. I do not hold the government or my doctor responsible for my health. I am. But if - and surely when - I fail to care for my body as a result of neglect, stupidity, ignorance, or time, I will ask the doctor who knows more than I about medical problems to assist me in allowing my body to heal. I don't know if the word "healthcare" has been labeled as a euphemism. If not, let me be the first to do so. Let's see...What would a better word or phrase be to accurately describe what "healthcare" really is? Sickness treatment? Health restoration? Actually the "healthcare system" is not health care but a reaction to a lack of health care in the individual. Yes, we all need the help of a doctor (and nurses) at times. But as a nurse, I see wasteful spending on people who consistently fail to take care of their own health and then expect someone else to. The American "healthcare" system is a huge mess, but I believe that we as individuals should first be encouraged to take care of our own health.

1 comment:

Judith said...

All you said is so very, very true. Medicine needs to move toward prevention......and balance that with the diagnostics for which our doctors are so well known. That will force people to take responsibility for their own "health--care."