Fast Food Method Philosophy = Fast Healthcare Method Philosophy
This is the first time I hear the expression “The McDonaldization of Medicine“. It does not mean what you think it means. It has nothing to do with McDonald’s being unhealthy or healthy or red or blue or yellow. Nope. It is a business model for medicine! It was just published in JAMA Neurology, one of the most prominent medical journals in the world. Coincidentally it published on what has come to be known as National Fast Food Day in the US. Coincidence? Not sure!
In case the link does not open for you, the full citation:
The McDonaldization of Medicine FREE ONLINE FIRST
E. Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA1; George Ritzer, PhD, MBA2
1Department of Neurology, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York
2Department of Sociology, University of Maryland, College Park
JAMA Neurol. Published online November 16, 2015. doi:10.1001/jamaneurol.2015.3449
Fast Food versus Healthcare Expectations
While one certainly can and should expect a fast food place to provide fast service at lower price and associated lower quality than what one could eat in a fancy restaurant of higher price, one does not expect the same to be true of medicine or healthcare in general. In medicine, where people’s lives are at stake, one does not expect a business model that follows the fast food model: fast in and out, service quick, cheap, and quantity matters more than quality. Fast foods also have one more business model point that is often overlooked: quantity is more important than quality. Thus if McDonald’s (or any other fast food brand has) say ten thousand customers a day, making ten of them unhappy will not cause harm.
A health institution that sees patients as business revenue is not a health institution but a disease institution. Why? Because making people healthy is bad business! Who needs care when healthy? People need care when they are sick. Thus the McDonadlization (ouch I hate this word) of our healthcare system makes the system into a disease system.
Do we want a disease system to manage our health?
Why would we? That’s like asking the proverbial mouse to stand guard over the proverbial cheese. I am glad I happened to read the JAMA’s today story today totally by accident. Normally articles pile up for me to read but fate brought me in touch with reality: We have been McDonaldized!
So how do we stop this nonsense? By making demands from our doctors! When you have your next visit for whatever reason, tell him or her that you pay for the services received and you have earned the right to the detailed explanations, the exact numbers in print as well so you can go to another doctor and have them explain the same thing and see the conflict! Also, do not forget to check the database to see how much money your doctor has taken from big pharma in 2014! Chances are it will amount to more than $10. If so, be aware that you are money (or food or vacation) in the eye of your doctor and not a patient! Some of my migraine sufferers found doctors who made over $80,000 in 2014 on medicines they prescribed! They have a vested interest in you being McDonalized and that you eat as much junk food as possible.
Oh, and by the way, by junk food I mean the following: sugar, sugar substitutes, fruit juices, fruit and vegetable smoothies, fruit and vegetable shakes, vegetable juices and puree like V8 or tomato sauce, and while we are at it, add to the junk food list all non-fat, low-fat, and reduced low-calorie anything, and vegetable oils as well. If you really want to eat healthy, also add to the list of junk food all grains: bread, pastas, cereal, cakes, biscuits, and whatever is made with them. And to top it all off, put all canned and prepared foods to the list of junk foods!
Now then. Shall we head to the grocery store and shop? We really only have about 4 shelves to use for shopping: dairy (get whole milk, whole yogurt if you find any and with no sugar added, whole milk cheese if you find any (you can’t, so buy not American like Brie), then pick up some heavy whipping cream for extra fat (do not add sugar and do buy a whipping machine for like $15 on amazon or elsewhere! Then grab some lovely cage free grass-fed free range eggs, head to the meat counter and buy some wonderful pasture raised beef with fat, pork, chicken, fish (with skin on and wild caught) and then the produce island to pick up veggies, fruits, and nuts and seeds. If you need oil head for the special oil section of olive, grape seed (love that one!), coconut oil, or use butter.
Done. It was easy! Now you have officially been un-McDonaldized… sheesh… the word is getting worse and worse… But once you have done all these, who needs a doctor? 🙂
Comments are welcome as always!
Angela
Clueless Doctors & Scientists 