Documentary Analysis: The Waiting Room
The Waiting Room Documentary is a story and a symbol of our national community and how our common vulnerability to illness binds us together as humans. It is a type of film that uses unprecedented access to go behind the doors of Oakland’s Highland Hospital, a safety-net hospital fighting for survival. Baring the struggles and determination of both a community and an institution functioning with limited resources and no road map for navigating a health care.
According to Adam Grossberg, the hospital is the source of primary care for some 250,000 patients. Almost every adult in the area who suffers a traumatic injury is transported to Highland Hospital, whether they are insured or not. The emergency room sees about 80,000 visits annually. Doctors …show more content…
health care system addressed in the movie “The waiting Room” includes the lack of resources within the community hospitals, the costs of health care, lack of insurance, and extremely long wait times. Based on a few topics that were discussed in the online class the cost of healthcare/lack of insurance is a relatable topic. Within the documentary majority people are without health insurance which means they are not able to afford the proper care that is needed. Online we discussed the affordable care act and ways we can improve it to make it cost efficient for those who are in need and simply cannot afford health insurance. Ways to improve the healthcare would be to expand scope of practice for mid-level practitioners; Under current regulations, providers like nurse practitioners and dental therapists are often prevented from practicing in underserved rural areas because of stringent licensing regulations. The federal government, however, could spend more money to bring down the costs that individuals and families face by raising the level of subsidies available for plans purchased on the exchanges or raising the income thresholds at which the subsidies phase out—or both. On the other hand, the government could offer a more generous subsidy to insurance companies, particularly those serving high-risk populations, in which case they wouldn't have to raise prices as much or impose such large
According to Adam Grossberg, the hospital is the source of primary care for some 250,000 patients. Almost every adult in the area who suffers a traumatic injury is transported to Highland Hospital, whether they are insured or not. The emergency room sees about 80,000 visits annually. Doctors …show more content…
health care system addressed in the movie “The waiting Room” includes the lack of resources within the community hospitals, the costs of health care, lack of insurance, and extremely long wait times. Based on a few topics that were discussed in the online class the cost of healthcare/lack of insurance is a relatable topic. Within the documentary majority people are without health insurance which means they are not able to afford the proper care that is needed. Online we discussed the affordable care act and ways we can improve it to make it cost efficient for those who are in need and simply cannot afford health insurance. Ways to improve the healthcare would be to expand scope of practice for mid-level practitioners; Under current regulations, providers like nurse practitioners and dental therapists are often prevented from practicing in underserved rural areas because of stringent licensing regulations. The federal government, however, could spend more money to bring down the costs that individuals and families face by raising the level of subsidies available for plans purchased on the exchanges or raising the income thresholds at which the subsidies phase out—or both. On the other hand, the government could offer a more generous subsidy to insurance companies, particularly those serving high-risk populations, in which case they wouldn't have to raise prices as much or impose such large