[extropy-chat] Who Gets Expensive Treatments Under Socialism?.

[ben]

I've wondered before if there would be a niche for 'professional health
carers', i.e. people who get paid to care about (not for) your health.
They would be augmented by expert medical systems, know enough about
medicine to know when it's time to call in the big guns, but above all,
they would be 'carers' (as in 'care about', rather than 'care for').

The idea is that if you subscribe to this service (who would actually
pay for it? - i don't know), you are guaranteed someone who will
familiarise themselves with your medical history, and be in a good
position to interpret (with the help of expert systems and other
resources) any medical problems you may have. This person sticks with
you, you know who you are talking to, you build up a relationship with
them, and (hopefully) gain confidence in their skills. They will refer
you to a GP or specialist when appropriate, and perhaps even take the
hassle out of arranging appointments. They would take a lot of the
pressure off doctors who have to deal with people who just need talking
to in order to feel a lot better, and a lot of people would feel a lot
happier with the knowledge that there was one person that they know, who
they turn to if they have a problem, and that that person is
knowledgeable enough to talk sense to them, relate their problems to
their personal history, and refer them to a more qualified person where
appropriate.

They'd also know when to be proactive, and pester you to get that pap
test/cholesterol test/prostate exam/whatever done, and have the skills
to talk to you without hacking you off.

This strikes me as a better system than the anonymous consultant that
you've never seen before and who has 30 seconds to familiarise
themselves with your entire history from some notes written by 14
different people before talking to you.

I dunno, maybe it's a tall order, but i think it would be a vast
improvement.

ben zaiboc