The future doctor and the future patient—reaching a true partnership

A new approach to tackling inequality As has been well documented, covid-19 cruelly exposed weaknesses in our health system.678 None of these were new, but they were not always widely appreciated or thought to be too catastrophic in terms of their impact on the people and communities marked by high...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ (Online) 2021-12, Vol.375, p.n3121-n3121
Main Author: Hunter, David J
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Collaboration
Community
Competition
Consumers
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
Cultural Characteristics
Delivery of Health Care, Integrated
England
Forecasting
Health care
Health disparities
Humans
Integrated delivery systems
Life expectancy
Life span
Local government
Opinion
Pandemics
Patients
Physician-Patient Relations
Physicians
Public health
Reforms
State Medicine
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Summary:A new approach to tackling inequality As has been well documented, covid-19 cruelly exposed weaknesses in our health system.678 None of these were new, but they were not always widely appreciated or thought to be too catastrophic in terms of their impact on the people and communities marked by high levels of deprivation and widening inequalities. In particular, the pandemic showed how critical public health is and yet how impoverished it has become—especially since 2010, when austerity cuts began to fall on public services and in particular those provided by local government.9 The consequence has been a reduction in life expectancy in many parts of the country.9 When considering the future doctor-patient relationship, it merits framing in a broader context than is customary when focusing on doctors and patients as individuals. If such a system can work in a country like Costa Rica, which has put public health centre stage with impressive results (life expectancy is almost 81 years at a fraction of the healthcare costs of high income countries), it can surely work for a UK city or region too.10 Costa Rica has achieved these gains in life expectancy by seeding its public health efforts to protect health and prevent disease in local communities.
ISSN:1756-1833
1756-1833
DOI:10.1136/bmj.n3121