A comment on health care, my opinion, why the costs have soared.
My Dad was a general practitioner, home and office together. He had a nurse and an office manager. He took care of many problems, right in his office, or in the home. He even had a small pharmacy where he dispensed some pills and syrups. He didn't have to write many expensive prescriptions.
If he needed more done, he had Miami Valley Hospital not too far away, they had an operating room, x-ray machine, lab, and at that time they were state of the art. A fine hospital. I am sure they had other equipment, but not sure what it was.
He even made house calls in the morning, and took care of those who could not make it in to the office, or the hospital. I often rode with him in the car on his house call rounds. I even got my drivers license when I was 14, so I could drive him around. In those days, doctor's kids, as well as farmers kids, could get an early license.
When he retired from practice, in the early 60's Blue Shield of Ohio wanted him to travel the state of Ohio, to go around to various county medical societies, and implore, beg, whatever, the doctors to NOT abuse their health insurance system. He gave up after a couple of years, knowing it was of no use.
That is when costs started mushrooming. Insurance was going to pay for it, so do more tests, send to specialists, more tests, more tests, more tests, more expensive tests, more expensive procedures. Those were the days when you speculated the sex of a baby, and it was a surprise. You purchased yellow clothes, not pink or blue.
If he was in practice today he would probably have to have a staff of eight or ten, or more just to take care of the paperwork. Do you get better care today? My Dad knew the names of his patients, took care of their family, delivered their babies, knew their family history, and was a family friend. Personal medical attention, and it didn't cost an arm and a leg. He was Doc, to them. And, I might add, he wore a suit, white shirt and a tie, and was held in high esteem by his patients, who had great respect for him. I had a doctor come to my room at the hospital, in jeans and tennis shoes. That operation probably cost more than my Dad made some early years of his practice.
In 1943, he sold his practice, and went into obstetrics in the Fidelity Building in downtown Dayton, Ohio. He had perhaps one of the largest practices in the city, and still had a nurse and an office manager. I am not sure of what he charged for the entire cost, office visits, delivery, etc., all of his books are lost, but it was not very much. Probably not a lot more than one office visit today. Think of the staff an OBGYN doctor has today.
Blame the physicians for high costs, blame technology for new equipment that all hospitals have to have now days, and all the employees they need to operate that equipment and blame the judicial system, that makes it mandatory that the Doctor has to use every test and procedure, just to protect himself, and for making malpractice insurance so costly.
All those advances have made it possible for us to live longer, and create a whole new problem, elder care. My Dad treated many elderly people, who lived long lives, and were taken care of by their families, and their General Practitioner Doctor, who came to their homes, knew their family history, knew their names, and doubled as their friend.
