Bryan Leyva is a Doctor of Medicine who went to Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and now he is a public health researcher at the University of Minnesota. Bryan focuses his research on “the behavioral and social determinants of health; b) racial and socioeconomic health disparities; c) models, measures, and strategies to improve quality and equity in health care.”
He wanted to hear the vox populi and asked “What should we denormalize in healthcare?” which essentially means, what are the biggest problems in the healthcare system that bother people the most.
Both people who were patients and medical professionals joined the conversation and a lot of issues surfaced. Some pointed out that racial and sexual discrimination or applying stereotypes still are existing problems that prevent doctors from giving quality service.
Others were pointing to the absurd amounts of money they have to pay in order to get the help they need. There were a quite significant number of people who thought that doctors will not believe how much pain patients, especially women, are in.
Miscommunication was also brought up as doctors will not try to explain conditions and illnesses to their patients in a language they would understand.
Medical professionals themselves were mentioning burnout and long shifts as well as disrespect among colleagues. So both sides see problems that need to be fixed and every issue that has been mentioned has to be dealt with individually as there is no one solution that would fit all challenges, so maybe that is why it is so difficult to change the situation.
Medical professionals are a crucial part of our society as they contain the knowledge of how to heal and survive when you are literally in the process of stepping into a coffin. But if they can't provide the care people need, it is really concerning and admitting that there are problems is already progress towards finding a solution.
So what would you answer to Bryan’s question? Let us know in the comments and also show us what tweets you agree with the most by upvoting them!
