Have you ever wondered why barber shops have those tubes with rotating red and white stripes in front of their saloons? My dear colleagues, those were the symbols that represented the humble beginning of the United States (US) healthcare system. According to Niles (2015), when the practice of medicine first begun in the United States (US) tradesmen like barbers can practice as physicians (p. 1). The red and white striped poles outside their shops represented blood and bandages because barbers at that time were also considered as surgeons (Starr, 1982 as cited in Niles, 2015, p. 3).
For this week’s module, I will be discussing the US healthcare system. The U.S. healthcare evolved from an unrestricted physician practice (relying on common sense for diagnosis) to the current complex and highly regulated system. In 1847 the American Medical Association was established; the private medical practice came to fruition (American Medical Association [AMA], n.d.). Before 1940, there was no health insurance, so patients paid for their doctor’s visits out of pocket. It was from 1940 to 1960 when group health insurance was offered, which changed the patient and physician relationship brought about by the third party payers (Niles, 2015, p. 4). …show more content…
Currently, there are three major concepts of healthcare delivery in the country, namely:
a. Primary prevention is simply the prevention of the development of the disease. This concept includes health education, programs (like immunization, smoking cessation programs), and campaigns (Niles, 2015, p.