During the COVID pandemic there have many "alternative"
treatments that have been "discovered." In some cases people may
have chosen to blindly follow them for reasons other than it being a
far right or left theory (Schloss, 2015). There are people who may
have found these treatments because they have gone online to find
an at-home remedy versus the expensive hospital bills. They may
have felt that if doctors were saying this that it has to be true
because they are doctors (Schloss, 2015). They may even feel that
these treatment options algin better with their religious beliefs and
choose them because of that (Schloss, 2015). None of these are
necessarily a wrong answer. What they do highlight is that our
medical system is broken because treatment is not affordable and a
doctors word is taken as law.
This is where changes need to be made, but how is a hard question
to ask. Training patients to ask questions is a good place to start and
many articles have been written on this subject, but implementing an
idea that is a vague theory is hard (NIA, 2020). Allowing more time
with a patient may create an environment where a patient feels more
comfortable, but that leads to less revenue for the provider. A
provider readily admitting they do not know everything would lead
to a loss of patients (NIA, 2020). More care is now done online too,
either self diagnosing or a visit that can happen through an email.
Neither of these lead to more questions being asked, but just trusting
that the article or doctor knows what they are talking about (NIA,
2020).
NIA. (2020, February). What should I ask my doctor during a
checkup? National Institute on Aging. Retrieved January 22, 2022,
from https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/what-should-i-ask-my-doctor-
during-checkup#:~:text=Asking%20questions%20is%20key
%20to,know%20it's%20important%20to%20you.
Schloss, J. (2015, August 3). 'faith vs. fact:' why religion and science are
mutually incompatible. The Washington Post. Retrieved January 22,
2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/science-and-
theology/2015/08/03/77136504-19ca-11e5-bd7f-
4611a60dd8e5_story.html
