Health Care around the World

In order to begin discussing the technology used in medicine around the world, we must have some basic knowledge of the health care systems in other countries. While we all know what health care is like where we live in the D.C. Metropolitan area, it is most likely true that many of us couldn't say much about the health care available in more rural areas of the country, or in areas like the border between Texas and Mexico. So if we can't even speak about health care in every part of our own country, what can most of us possibly know about medicine elsewhere, especially in some areas of the world seldom traveled by Americans? This blog will help to explore the technologies used in health care around the world and throughout the United States in the more remote areas. However, in order to have a strong base of knowledge, I will discuss the state of health care in other countries right now.

In order to first discuss the idea of health care and medicine in other countries, I think it is crucial to discuss some of the misconceptions that people have about the medical systems that exist under different types of government from our own. While researching myths commonly held about health care in other countries, I came across an article written by T.R. Reid and featured in the Washington Post in August of 2009. His article explored some of the more common beliefs held about the structure of health care in places other than the United States. One of the myths that he explores is that all medicine is socialized around the world, but he points out that this is untrue and that in many countries, including Japan and Switzerland, there are private insurance companies as well as private health professionals and clinics. While this is obviously not discussing a developing country, it is important to discuss health care and medical technology around the world instead of only focusing on places that tend to draw a lot of negative attention like Africa or India. Throughout this blog, I will focus on various countries, ranging from wealthy ones like Switzerland to developing areas such as Kenya and Ghana.

A second, and even more important myth discussed in T.R. Reid's article is that "cost controls stifle innovation." However, while many may think that more limited health care spending hinders the production and use of new and innovative techniques and technology, that is contrary to the facts. For example, as T.R. Reid points out, many of the techniques used today in the United States came from places like France or England. It is crucial to remember before beginning to read this blog that countries besides the United States are advanced in the health care field, and many are gaining strength with each passing year.

In order to understand the current health situations existing around the world, it's important to hear some current information about a place considered much further behind in technology in general, especially in medicine. On a travel website called the "Africa Guide," there is a section detailing the various types of illnesses that are frequently encountered throughout Africa. These diseases and illnesses include: AIDS, Bilharzia (a parasite in the water), Cholera, Amoebic Dysentary, Hepatitis, Meningitis, and Polio, among others. Simply from looking at this list, one can clearly see that the areas in Africa where these types of diseases are common must be lacking in their medical technology and health care. Diseases like Polio and Cholera have not been a problem in the United States for at least 50-100 years. As I post more entries, I will focus on specific types of medical technological tools that are used in Africa related to the types of tools and technologies used in the United States.

Hopefully this blog entry allows you to better understand the current situations in health care in a few different parts of the world, and your knowledge, as well as my own, will be expanded throughout the semester as I focus specifically on countries and their use of medical technology and quality of health care. This entry should provide some strong background knowledge of health care, and I will discuss technological tools in more depth as the semester goes on.