Tough question huh (sounds like a med school interview type of question! hah.)? With all the problems that reside within the health community (and there's just wayy too much that can simply be mentioned), I would personally have to say that my greatest concern with the healthcare system today is the lack of treatment and care among the Asian American community.
First off, I don't want to come off by saying that Asians Americans are the only group of people who deal with the lack of healthcare because obviously, there are many other minority based groups that should be better off but after reading a couple of articles on various Asian blogs ( I should really be studying.) , I can't help but express my frustration on the poor quality of health services in Chinatown for various groups of people, particularly those who are immigrants or have a low income.
Having been born in a suburban area and then eventually raised in the city, it's pretty easy to notice the differences in how you're treated whenever you go into the doctor's office. When I first moved to SF, my parents had a pretty stable income and I had a pretty good physician to take care of me. While we didn't really get our own place to live, (we planned to 'temporarily' stay at my grandparents house..which now didn't really pan out as well seeing that we've lived there for about 10 years now....) things weren't too bad until my dad got sick and my mom had to get a job to support us. I eventually stopped seeing my regular physician and dentist a couple years ago because my parents switched health care services to NEMS, which is a non-profit health organization that serves the medically under-served community (particularly those who are Asian American). NEMS have clinics that are located through out the city but it's prominently based in Chinatown. Given my description of what NEMS is all about, it's a pretty good organization with ideals that really helps patients who have limited English speaking skills. However, there are some things that I believe that should be improved.
1) PATIENT CARE.
I don't know about you, but whenever I go into the doctor's or dentist's office, I would like to be treated with CARE instead of hearing the doctors gossip in Mandarin while doing a check up on me. Granted, I have limited listening skills, but I don't want to hear about what 'so and so' did the other day and how 'whats his face' acted like while you're probing into the gums of my teeth. What's unfortunate about the some of the staff from NEMS is that they occasionally 'forget' the fact that they're improving the quality of a patient's life (or at least I would hope so.) and see the things that they do as something extremely menial. It's also really unfortunate that most of the people I see working at those hospitals seem like they're just technicians instead of young and bright doctors who got out of their residency and really focus on serving their community, at least not that I've seen so far. While i'm sure there's someone out there who really cares about their people, it's kind of frustrating to see a lack of focus in caring for various patients.
2) Facility
With about 6 floors and over hundreds of people coming into the hospital everyday, I find it strange to see that there's only one elevator in the whole building. You have to wait in line to get in and practically get squished while you're inside the elevator. You wouldn't see this at all in a private hospital or clinic. However, I can't really see any options in adding another elevator, seeing that the building is already pretty crowded.
3) H1N1 Vaccine
Until a couple months ago, I don't think I really realize the need for an improved healthcare system until I had to wait in line for the H1N1 vaccine twice. The first time was when I had to take the BART back home to meet up with my dad and my sister so we could get the vaccine. Vaccinations started from 4pm-7pm and even when we got there 2 hours early, there was already a MASSIVE line that reached from the hospital to this nearby park in CT. I didn't get the vaccination that time but it was just really discouraging to see all those people waiting in line and how some volunteers or guards (i don't remember) were yelling at the groups of people who were frustrated that they didn't get a vaccine for the second or third time. My parents and sister ended up waking at 5 in the morning on a weekday to wait for the next administration of the vaccine. I guess having a shortage of the vaccine doesn't really help the situation but it's pretty ridiculous to see so many people wait hours before and after in line just to get a vaccine.
Also, according to this other blog, Alameda's Public Health department has flyers on the H1N1 vaccine in English and Spanish but none in Simplified or Traditional Chinese, which I find to be very strange.
Anyways, I guess you can say that I'm a huge proponent on improving healthcare for the Asian American community, particularly in Chinatown.
I've been interested in TCM for a while not only because of its alternative approaches but I feel like there should be a need to integrate TCM and Westernized medicine for everyone, or particularly for the Asian Americans. When my dad was sick, the UCSF doctors told him that he would only be able to produce limited saliva due to radiation treatment but with herbal medicine, doctors were astonished at his recovery. With so many people who are currently going through chemotherapy or radiation treatment, you can only imagine how much better they could be if they knew about TCM or any other alternative/preventative medicine.
On another note, here is something I find to be very interesting and that those who are interested in pursuing a career in healthcare should be aware of.
While many of us strive to improve healthcare, we must not lose sight of simple things. We must be vigilant of a patient's right to know, which may necessitate the services of an interpreter. There remains a glaring need for better communication in the healthcare system. We must always remember this.
Their blog even has the same skin as I do! ahahah...
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