Doctor Patient Relationship Post WWII

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Changes in Doctor/Patient Relationship Post WWII One of the biggest changes in the healthcare delivery system since the end of WWII has been the Doctor/Patient relationship. By the end of WWII, doctors still made house calls. However with the increasing population- courtesy of baby boomers- and the economics involved in providing services, the delivery system has changed. The changes in the delivery system were brought about primarily by the advancement in technology and the elimination of house calls. House calls prior to WWII were not an uncommon practice. Patients would call their doctor, generally the family doctor, and have them visit their home for whatever health services the doctor could provide. The doctor would gather their tools, drive to the patients home, provide their services, and from there drive to visit another patient. In hindsight, house calls were an inefficient practice in terms of… • Time- Doctors spent valuable time traveling to and from house calls. The time doctors spent traveling or gathering the proper equipment for the job became very time taxing. • Money- There is no such thing as a free meal. That being said, regardless if the doctors were reimbursed, they still had travel expenses. • Productiveness- As previously stated doctors spent valuable time traveling to and from and preparing for the patient. House calls meant that doctors could only see a small number of patients in a single day (compared to today’s delivery system). Less time spent getting to the patient meant that more patients could be seen in a day. • Technology- Because the doctor had to travel they were not able to transport all their medical equipment. After the doctor had visited the patient in their home the doctor may not have b... ... middle of paper ... ...elth also reduces hospital readmissions by 14% and emergency room visits by 20% (pg42, para 5). This nurse has a family member with a pacemaker monitoring system. She can tell it helps make these patients feel more in touch with their providers and gives them a sense of safety also. She believes this is especially true when it comes to the elderly who don’t get out as much. This nurse believes that if the appropriate monitoring of safety and security is implemented to protect confidentiality and quality of care that information technology (IT) in healthcare with continue to have a positive impact on patient care and outcomes. This nurse also believes that proper extensive training on these sophisticated systems is very important to patient safety and efficiency of care. With all the new advances in healthcare emerging it will be challenging but can only get better.

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