I work at a medical research university, medical school, and medical center campus. It's an academic institution, not a commercial one. I know what drives the researchers and doctors because I talk to them every day.
What drives them is the true relentless desire to solve medical problems and find cures and treatments for people. They don't give a shit about profit as long as they get paid a fair salary (because it's damned hard work - 70 hour weeks or more) for their knowledge and effort. And to be honest, researcher salaries are dirt-low anyway. They're in it because the scientific mystery drives them, as does the need to improve medical knowledge and techniques.
The nation would need to invest some of the health care budget into research... but it ALREADY DOES. And if the system weren't profit-driven, they'd be able to put more effort into finding cures for diseases that desperately need attention... and less into things like "viagara" because it can turn a profit. Research needs to go where the medical NEED is, not where the profit is. But right now, pharmaceutical research is profit-driven. I worked in an oncology lab for one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their drug development "pipeline" is insane.
Trust me, the USA has people who are curious, intelligent, and driven enough to keep improving medical technology. And also, improvements help keep down cost in the long run. If you could CURE a person with type-1 diabetes instead of keeping them on insulin for their whole life, it's cost-efficient, right? And it's better for everyone, especially the patient. Improved treatments for diseases reduce complications, which cost money.
So... even if a universal health care system was trying to minimize cost, it would still be in their best interest to keep pushing research forward. It would be in their best interest to keep good technology available.
And as I know from all of my Canadian friends and family (most of my family lives there), the quality of health care up there is excellent. High-tech, very advanced... just like the USA. They don't have as many MRI machines, but by and large, they've got everything we have, and they don't WASTE nearly as much money as we do.
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What drives them is the true relentless desire to solve medical problems and find cures and treatments for people. They don't give a shit about profit as long as they get paid a fair salary (because it's damned hard work - 70 hour weeks or more) for their knowledge and effort. And to be honest, researcher salaries are dirt-low anyway. They're in it because the scientific mystery drives them, as does the need to improve medical knowledge and techniques.
The nation would need to invest some of the health care budget into research... but it ALREADY DOES. And if the system weren't profit-driven, they'd be able to put more effort into finding cures for diseases that desperately need attention... and less into things like "viagara" because it can turn a profit. Research needs to go where the medical NEED is, not where the profit is. But right now, pharmaceutical research is profit-driven. I worked in an oncology lab for one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world. Their drug development "pipeline" is insane.
Trust me, the USA has people who are curious, intelligent, and driven enough to keep improving medical technology. And also, improvements help keep down cost in the long run. If you could CURE a person with type-1 diabetes instead of keeping them on insulin for their whole life, it's cost-efficient, right? And it's better for everyone, especially the patient. Improved treatments for diseases reduce complications, which cost money.
So... even if a universal health care system was trying to minimize cost, it would still be in their best interest to keep pushing research forward. It would be in their best interest to keep good technology available.
And as I know from all of my Canadian friends and family (most of my family lives there), the quality of health care up there is excellent. High-tech, very advanced... just like the USA. They don't have as many MRI machines, but by and large, they've got everything we have, and they don't WASTE nearly as much money as we do.