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2007-07-25 Caribbean-Latin America

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Posted by crosspatch 2007-07-25 05:13|| || Front Page|| [11134 views ] Top

#1 Because Cuba has the best health care system in the world. It's true, El Jefe told me!

Posted by Spot">Spot 2007-07-25 08:18|| 2007-07-25 08:18|| Front Page Top

#2 Maybe these doctors should visit Michael Moore and explain the actual facts to him. Or show up at a showing of Sicko to counter the bs.

Posted by Rambler">Rambler 2007-07-25 09:41|| 2007-07-25 09:41|| Front Page Top

#3 Actually, though, in its basic form, that is one advantage Cuba has over the US: it creates doctors in quantity, if not in as high a quality.

US medical schools are notorious for limiting the number of qualified students they admit and graduate, intentionally, to keep the number of physicians artificially low.

Since they have a monopoly of domestically produced doctors, this undermines the free market, forcing the US to import less qualified doctors from overseas. And yes, it is self-defeating in the long run.

It is a painful irony that law schools permit as many students admissions and graduations as they can--thus giving us a surfeit of lawyers, with a profoundly negative effect on society. When it should be law schools that restrict numbers, and medical schools that allow as many competent students as possible through.

Now were the US to encourage medical schools to admit and graduate at much higher numbers, several things would happen. First of all, the overall price of medical care would decline, even if top physicians would still command premium prices.

Second, private practices would greatly increase in number, especially in the more rural parts of the US, in competition with managed care in the big cities.

And a new type of cash-only-based private practices have discovered that they can offer discounts as much as 50%, simply by not accepting Medicare and insurance payments, which radically decreases their expenses.

Because medical science and pharmacology continue to develop at a fast clip, with a resulting overload in information, Internet physician networks are developing to help insure that the best care and pharmacology are being used by doctors who do not have the time to keep up with the latest advancements.

For example, when a doctor sees a patient and notes their symptoms, they can enter those symptoms into the database and get a "second opinion" diagnosis and recommended course of treatment.

And these would also help maintain quality control among a much larger number of physicians.

Posted by Anonymoose 2007-07-25 11:15|| 2007-07-25 11:15|| Front Page Top

#4 Overseas doctors are not inferior to American doctord, anonymouse, are you medically trained, I dont think so...
In fact, Its been my experience that doctors from places like pakistan, iran,and egypt are amoung the tops in their fields anywhere on the planet. Keep your moronic meanderings inside that microscopic little brain of yours next time.

Posted by bk 2007-07-25 12:09|| 2007-07-25 12:09|| Front Page Top

#5 "I've seen this movie before."

Posted by mojo">mojo 2007-07-25 12:30|| 2007-07-25 12:30|| Front Page Top

#6 Oh toss off bk,
a medical degree from sudan is probably the equivalent of a 6th grade public school education in the states.

Posted by bigjim-ky 2007-07-25 13:37|| 2007-07-25 13:37|| Front Page Top

#7 bk did a paki give you colonastemy this morning?

Posted by sinse 2007-07-25 14:56|| 2007-07-25 14:56|| Front Page Top

#8 In fact, Its been my experience that doctors from places like pakistan

What were the names of these paki docs that were involved in the Glasgow booming attempt?

and egypt are amoung [sic] the tops in their fields anywhere on the planet.

What is the field of Ayman Al-Zawahiri again?

Posted by twobyfour 2007-07-25 15:38|| 2007-07-25 15:38|| Front Page Top

#9 Sure sure bk that is why everyone travel OUTSIDE the U.S. for treatment.

Posted by Cyber Sarge 2007-07-25 16:13|| 2007-07-25 16:13|| Front Page Top

#10 As I recall, Dr. Steve (one of our mods) recently said quite positive things about the skills of Pakistani-trained doctors he's worked with. Perhaps he'll join in on this thread at some point.

Posted by lotp 2007-07-25 16:19|| 2007-07-25 16:19|| Front Page Top

#11 lotp, I am sure he does. The thing is, Zawahiri nothwithstanding, those trained before the Islamic revival in late 80's seem to be honest-to-god skilled medical professionals. But from that point on, they seem to be more Islamist professionals than medical professionals.

Posted by twobyfour 2007-07-25 17:07|| 2007-07-25 17:07|| Front Page Top

#12 Don't foreign-trained doctors have to pass the same Medical Board exams as U.S.-trained? Certainly Indian doctors seem to be quite well received in my part of the world. Cyber Sarge, lots of Americans go down to Mexico to get treatments that aren't FDA approved, or because it's cheaper.

Separately, was it Zawahiri who was the pediatrician?

Posted by trailing wife 2007-07-25 17:45|| 2007-07-25 17:45|| Front Page Top

#13 What I notice about many, if not most, of the foreign doctors whom I meet is how slight an accent they retain. I take this to be the result of a long and intense education. I wish the American nurses could speak as well.

Posted by Nimble Spemble 2007-07-25 17:53|| 2007-07-25 17:53|| Front Page Top

#14 Isn't everyone fleeing Venezuela these days?

Posted by JohnQC 2007-07-25 18:19|| 2007-07-25 18:19|| Front Page Top

#15 OK Nimble Spemble, I gotta defend our lovely USA home bred Nurses.

I've been laid up for months in Hospital here in the US of A, and the Registered and Specialized Nurses that have lifted my body and spirit with their healing touch and sweet dulcet voices could not be duplicated anywhere in the World!

They aren't ordinary Nimble Spemble, they are extraordinary and come from the one and only Divine Angel factory ima sure.

You couldn't find better looking or more professional competition to our native nurses at Hospitals and or here at my home.

And that's not counting the lovely ones I dated in the past...even!@

OK have I convinced you?

Posted by RD ">RD 2007-07-25 19:01|| 2007-07-25 19:01|| Front Page Top

#16 trailing wife, re-read #9!

;-)

Posted by RD ">RD 2007-07-25 19:03|| 2007-07-25 19:03|| Front Page Top

#17 Get well soon, RD dear. Nurses are wonderful everywhere, as I learnt to my joy while recovering from giving birth to trailing daughter #2 in Germany. And let's not stint praise for those gentlemen who choose that field, adding broad shoulders and strong backs to gentle hands and voices.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-07-25 19:33|| 2007-07-25 19:33|| Front Page Top

#18 Oh TW, Sorry,

This was a few years ago, Ima verticle now and getting around w/ Bipedal Locomotion thanks to the Divine Angels.

;-)

Posted by RD ">RD 2007-07-25 20:04|| 2007-07-25 20:04|| Front Page Top

#19
Yes tw, I was referring to my fairer sexed Nurses [wimmins],

;-)

but I also had some first rate male nurses at UCSF.

One in Particular was a ex-Army Ranger Gulf War vet. Intensive care, I had 2 weeks the first stint in IC.

Another one named Mike saved my bacon a couple of times I flipped out and went on extreme escape and evade maneuvers due to very high doses of prednisone!

;-0

Posted by RD ">RD 2007-07-25 20:16|| 2007-07-25 20:16|| Front Page Top

#20 I am glad, RD -- bipedal locomotion no less! Yes, I've been more than a bit sharpish under the effects of prednisone, myself. It's a pity the drug is so effective, given the side effects.

Posted by trailing wife 2007-07-25 22:44|| 2007-07-25 22:44|| Front Page Top

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