Primary Care Vs Specialties
I believe that increasing primary care is the better solution rather than expanding medical specialties. As Dr. Gawande's car metaphor explained, a car put together with the best (specialties) parts can turn out to be just an expensive collection of junk. I believe it is the same with medicine, growing capabilities in different medical specialties is beneficial only if it is put together efficiently through primary care.
Primary care is the first line of defense, which diagnose, treat and prevent a wide variety of conditions. However, the most important thing primary care provides is ensuring patients get the right care, in the right settings, and by the most appropriate practitioner (specialization). On top of that, primary care allows patients
to develop a relationship with his/her health care provider in a more intimate level (understanding both health issues and personal values).
I acknowledge that investing in specialized care is also an important factor, as primary care providers may not have the specialty needed to understand and treat complicated health issues. However, Dr. Gawande raises a legitimate point with the importance of "pit crews" (in this case, primary care), which are able to establish relationships with individual patients and forward them to specialized care (according to their health issues and preferred personal values). Without primary care "pit crews", patients cannot be efficiently forwarded to the correct specialized care.
Works Cited
Gawande, Atul. "Transcript of "How Do We Heal Medicine?"" Atul Gawande: How Do We Heal Medicine? | TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript | TED.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 15 July 2017.
"What Is Primary Care?" Primary Care Progress. PCP, 2017. Web. 15 July 2017.
Primary care is the first line of defense, which diagnose, treat and prevent a wide variety of conditions. However, the most important thing primary care provides is ensuring patients get the right care, in the right settings, and by the most appropriate practitioner (specialization). On top of that, primary care allows patients
to develop a relationship with his/her health care provider in a more intimate level (understanding both health issues and personal values).
I acknowledge that investing in specialized care is also an important factor, as primary care providers may not have the specialty needed to understand and treat complicated health issues. However, Dr. Gawande raises a legitimate point with the importance of "pit crews" (in this case, primary care), which are able to establish relationships with individual patients and forward them to specialized care (according to their health issues and preferred personal values). Without primary care "pit crews", patients cannot be efficiently forwarded to the correct specialized care.
Works Cited
Gawande, Atul. "Transcript of "How Do We Heal Medicine?"" Atul Gawande: How Do We Heal Medicine? | TED Talk Subtitles and Transcript | TED.com. N.p., 2011. Web. 15 July 2017.
"What Is Primary Care?" Primary Care Progress. PCP, 2017. Web. 15 July 2017.