[Peace-discuss] a critique of american medicine and the flexner report

[Morton K. Brussel]

Sticking points: What are "basic qualifications"? What are "artificially difficult tests" or "unreasonably difficult tests" as opposed to just difficult or easy tests (of one's preparatory knowledge or aptitudes)? Does the ability to communicate enter, the ability to solve problems, the ability to remember what one has read? Etc., etc..
Is everybody able? 

The point is that, yes, there should be more entering the medical (and other professional) fields, and there should be no financial barriers if the aptitude barriers are met, but the problem is less easy than is implied here. 

Even Cuba must have aptitude barriers, despite the low remuneration of its medical corps… It would be useful to look to see what China, India, France, Germany, Sweden,…, do to fulfill their health care needs. We could learn a lot. 

--mkb


On Apr 18, 2010, at 5:48 PM, David Green wrote:

> Of course the professional credential marketplace has kept the number of practitioners artificially low in every major profession--law, medicine, accounting, and I assume vets as well.
>  
> Every professional school should be competely government funded, free, and open to everyone meeting basic qualifications, by education, test, or both, whether after high school or college (which should also be free and open to everyone). There shouldn't be artificial "intelligence" tests, or artificially difficult tests, but just tests of basic knowledge. Schools wouldn't have to be unreasonably competitive or difficult in order to "weed people out"--just as difficult as the knowledge and skill requires; and institutions like internships, clerkships, etc. would be solely for preparation rather than one way of socializing professionals into a culture in which they feel that due to the gauntlet they have run they deserve exponentially higher rewards than those who care for their children or prepare their food.
>  
> Credentials would be for certifying people, not rejecting people. State bar exams are probably the most blatant example of any of this that I've heard of.
>  
> We would quickly find that plenty of people would be motivated to pursue various professions because they interest them. We would find the availability of services goes up while the price goes down. In medicine, the government would of course pay for that as well, and less what we're all paying now, even with twice as many doctors.
>  
> Of course, all this would require libertarian socialism; or perhaps all of us just moving to Cuba.
>  
> DG
> 
> From: E.Wayne Johnson <ewj at pigs.ag>
> To: peace discuss <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net>
> Sent: Sun, April 18, 2010 2:51:38 PM
> Subject: [Peace-discuss] a critique of american medicine and the flexner report
> 
> My contention has long been that one of the primary problems with medical care in the USA is that there are too few providers and that the number of health care providers is held low artificially by the deceit of the AMA.  I have suggested a drastic loosening of the standards to promote more providers.  There havent been many takers for my notions, but here someone examines the history of medicine and the Flexner report and the fake reform of Obama and Co.
>  
> http://mises.org/daily/4276
> 
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