THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE: SQUEEZING OUT THE DOCTOR

Published: June2, 2012; The Economist; http://www.economist.com

Level of Difficulty: ***

BEFORE YOU READ

1.       What are the major problems in health care in the modern world?

2.       Which parts of the world are these problems more widespread in?

3.       Can you think of any ways in which the problem of lack of adequate health care be dealt with?

4.       Now read the title of the text and think again about the answer you gave to question 3.

NOTE TO THE STUDENT: As you read the text and answer the questions, make notes for yourself. You will need them for the writing task.

QUESTIONS

1.       What surprising pieces of information are revealed about Rob Goudswaard?

2.       How can the information in paragraph 3 best be summarized? Use your own words.

3.       Besides the practical advantage, being a doctor brings an added bonus. It is ……………………

4.       How can the information in paragraph 5 best be summarized. Use your own words.

5.       The writer states that doctors will be taking a back seat in terms of treating patients for the following two reasons: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

6.       Why have alternative ways of training doctors and alternatives to doctors themselves mostly emerged in poor countries?

7.       Read paragraphs 8, 9 and 10. India’s solution to the shortage of doctors is to ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8.       What are the two advantages of this solution? You will need to use your own words to some extent.

9.       How does the telehealth service work, and what is the advantage?

10.   What conclusion can we draw about the use of robots in operating theatres from the case of military drones?

11.   Read the section titled “Team Effort”. What are the four advantages to the state of monitoring systems in general?

12.   What radical change in the standard medical degree is in the pipeline according to the text and how successful can we expect the scheme to be?

13.   Why have the solutions discussed thus far not been as successful as they perhaps ought to have been? Use your own words.

14.    According to the text, will the doctors’ current attitude concerning these solutions persist or not? Why or why not?

WRITING TASK

Many people in the world, especially those living in the developing world, are not receiving the health care they need. Use the notes you made while reading the text and the points below to write a problem solution essay discussing the various ways out of the predicament.

Introduction: Introduce the problem of the growing shortage of doctors and the soaring need for health care.

End you paragraph with a thesis statement: there are various practical and effective ways in which the problem can be addressed.

In our development, discuss the following solutions: Expanding the supply of non doctors ( 3.5 years training, eye care technicians, health care workers, midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, diagnostic medical sonogrophers), expanding home monitoring devices (mobile tools, telehealth services), expanding and improving robot technology.

In your conclusion: Discuss the need to overcome doctor resistance

THE FUTURE OF MEDICINE: SQUEEZING OUT THE DOCTOR/ KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES

This reading task gives students the opportunity to practice their summarizing skills as there are chunks of text which can very easily be summarized in one sentence. There are, however, no actual sentences in the text that could be taken as the answer. The students will need to use their own words. Their answers should correspond in terms of content to the answers in the key. A second point, they will need to annotate the text as they read as they will need this information for the text related writing activity.

1.       He is the head of innovation for Philips home monitoring business; he has no medical training.

2.       Possible answer: Medical technology has developed in leaps and bounds making doctors better able to do their jobs.

3.       Respectability or saving lives, which is the reason for the respectability.

4.       The demand for health care is rising and will continue to.

5.       An impossible number of doctors would be required; caring for chronic conditions is not what doctors do best.

6.       The demand for health care is rising faster than the supply of doctors in poor countries; i.e. the developing world.

7.       Ensure that surgeons do only the most complex procedures and that an army of other workers do everything else.

8.       Surgeries cost less; many more surgeries can be performed.

9.       Mobile phones are used to deliver advice and reminders and arrange doctor’s visits; two thirds of patients’ concerns can be addressed over the phone.

10.   As yet robots are enhancements for surgeons more than they are replacements but that may change in time.

11.   Admissions to emergency rooms, trips to hospitals, costs and mortality all drop.

12.   A 3.5 year degree that would let graduates deliver basis primary care in rural areas. Very successful.

13.   The doctors oppose them; they want to keep their power.

14.   No it won’t. As doctors become scarcer………………………………..