Charles Dickens' novel "A Tale of Two Cities" was set in the time leading up to and encompassing the French Revolution. The French peasantry, demoralized by the aristocracy, reached a revolutionary tipping point. Draw whatever parallels you wish, but in some ways, health care delivery is fast approaching a similar point.
Some place blame on insurance carriers alone, but it is useful to remember that insurance is just a mirror which reflects the visible image of the health care system writ large. It is more instructive and more useful to examine the image rather than the reflection.
A modern tale of two cities (and two different states) serves as an example. Two friends had reached a point of frustration with the manner in which their health care was being delivered. The first (in Florida) was dissatisfied with the care she received at her current physician's practice and made an appointment with a new practitioner. She asked her current physician to transfer her records to the new doctor. Two weeks and several phone calls later, she has no idea whether or not those records have been transferred. The best she was able to do was to leave a message on voice mail; a message that has not yet been returned.
Another friend, this one in Washington, called with great excitement to ask what I thought of a new practice model she was contemplating. Seeking to remedy some of the same problems as my southern friend, she had found One Medical. Only available in a few cities (so far), One Medical was founded by a group of doctors who . . . wait for it . . . listened to their patients and "…built a totally new medical group designed specifically to meet your needs."
