How Has Medical Care Changed in The Last Few Years?

Historically speaking, medical care has undergone a sea change since its inception from the time of Hippocrates. Even if we compare the last few decades with the facilities that we have today, we will be taken by surprise. From hospital stays that sometimes went on for years to telemedicine now, medical science indeed has travelled a long road. Earlier the hospital and other centres of medical care were poorly equipped to handle large numbers of people, skills and medical talent was limited, the scope of error in surgery was large but hospitals and care centers of today have advanced not only in terms of technology but also attracted superior talent to the field. The change can also be attributed to several cultural shifts that we have observed, perhaps more understanding of the human system, shifts in policy across the world and some major changes in access to premier healthcare worldwide in terms of affordable pricing of medicines and medical treatment overall. Although many hopes are tied when it comes to envisioning the future of medical care, for instance fee for outcome model, certain geographies are doing well in comparison to others. In retrospect therefore, we will discuss how medical care has changed from the years past in this article.

Treatment based on class, religion and gender

The medical care in the early 20th century was notorious for rampant discrimination based on gender, religion and class of a person. Poorest of the poor have often been denied rightful treatment due to this unjustified discrimination. This is not all, hospitals were often earmarked for treating people of certain races only as emphasized by an article published in the American Journal of Public Health in 2003. Sometimes certain floors and sections of the hospitals were closed for people of certain races and religions which stood absolutely true till late into the 1960s.

The facilities reserved for the lower class were often equipped with poorly skilled doctors and inadequate medical care. Oftentimes, necessary medical attention was denied to Black women and they were chided when they complained of pain or discomfort.  People with dietary preferences saw their requests often overlooked which made the distinction even more stark.

Although, medical care now has no room for such discrimination, exceptions continue to crop up here and there with male doctors denying the pain and discomfort experienced by female patients. However, conditions in medical care with regard to discrimination have vastly improved.

Hospital Stays have been cut drastically short

Technological advances have cut short the amount of time people stay in the hospital by a good amount. Most of the operations that required longer stays like hernia are now regularly being treated on an outpatient basis. While discharging patients sooner is better for the patient itself, making them stay longer on the premises is not good for the hospital's net income. Therefore they have an incentive to not make you stay and give you the best in class treatment. This is especially advantageous for senior care. Any Primary Medical Care Center for Seniors Hollywood worth its salt will discharge seniors sooner to let them recover better in the security of their homes. With the incoming of futuristic technology such as telemedicine hospital stays might be eliminated all at once.

There are many more factors that have changed since medicine evolved that fall just outside the scope of this article. However, the underlying idea behind all medical advancement has been patient empowerment. For any Primary Medical Care Center for Seniors in Hollywood this holds true. Most of the present efforts are being directed towards making the patients aware of their rights and helping them exercise their rights when the opportunity arises.