For one of my classes, a group of my peers and I have to do a project on another country's healthcare system. After doing some research on Mexico's healthcare system, I have become even more grateful for the amazing care that I have available to me at virtually any moment. But at the same time, I am even more encouraged to try to do what I can with my professional career to improve the quality and equity of care in the U.S.
According to cms.gov's National Health Expenditures datasheet, the U.S. spent $3.2 trillion on healthcare in 2015, which averages out to $9,990 per person and 17.8% of the GDP. With spending at record highs, one would be lead to believe that we would be ranked very highly in terms of healthy outcomes, but in 2014 we ranked last out of the top 11 industrialized countries in healthy lives. Healthy lives was measured in infant mortality and deaths that were potentially preventable with timely access to effective health care. And equity....I could talk forever about the inequities that affect so many millions of people in this country.
I'm eager to learn as much as I can this summer while interning with a senior executive of Catholic Medical Center. I am hoping this experience will push me to think about my future and the future of healthcare and my interactions with it. I know there is so much room for improvement and I am excited to get going and be the change!
THe things that actually impact health status have relatively little to do with medical care, as you have no doubt studied in your public health classes. The best medicine to prevent chronic disease is exercise and diet. Americans are fat and lazy on average. The result is a need for more medical intervention to offset the lack of self-care (and self-care is really cheap).
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