We can all relate to the all-time transitioning modus vivendi of the century. Decades of the 1900s to 2000s have been fast track of technological, scientific, and information train. Yet, most of the passengers occupying the first-class seats make up the growing millennial population. They are the biggest drivers of the supersonic technological sequence of the century.
Industries have relentlessly managed to keep up with the pace with an exception- the physicians. Some may contend by referencing the astonishing achievements we have made in the healthcare stage over the past half-century. But I must aver those advances, although in good trust, still made through technological mastering of non-physicians without optimal physician validation efforts.
Whether intentional, political, or negligent, it's a matter of discrete discussion, but I feel obliged to further elaborate on patients' and physicians' roles in the ever-changing healthcare landscape.
Anyone reaching young adulthood in the first half of the 21st-century is ostensibly tech-savvy and reliant on what the technology must offer. One may reasonably assume the millennial is more of a social media follower than pen pals.
The liberal millennial attitude is principally applicable to all aspects of their lives, to which healthcare is no Odder. Contrary to say, the baby boomers' adaptation of such revolution has been somewhat scattered and inconsistent. The disparity between the two generations is more so healthcare's of particular importance.
The patient baby boomer population is rising, as physicians of the same generation are retiring as we speak. Statistically, the proportion of millennial physicians cannot keep stride with the increasing number of baby boomer patients, while both latter sustain their traditional insolence about health and healthcare delivery.
21st-century's vision of physicians is still around maintaining Hippocratic personalized medicine while losing saneness to rapid putsch of sacred clinical judgment to a protocol-based rigid corporate algorithmic patient care. Ancient Personalized care by physicians is becoming the theme of a chapter in history.
The Utilitarian population health model is one of the motives to fault for such a course. The health outcomes of a group of individuals in a community, country, defined geographic boundaries, or population with the specific shared profile defines healthcare mission. Population health also represents the dispersion of endings within the demarcated crowd.
By transitioning from personalized Hippocratic medicine into a collective population-based approach, We forced the practice of medicine into the adaptation of utilitarian overture over time.
The changeover into the population model supports the doctrine that the ideal healthcare is the derivative of the usefulness of its deliverable and that the aim of medical intervention should be the most outstanding possible balance of benefit over risk or the most extraordinary upshot for the majority within the human assemblage.
The Modern millennia perceptual experience of personalized and population healthcare is multifariously diverse, as they feel technological advancement would optimally suffice to establish customized healthcare. With the like mindset, tailored medicine is equivalent to genomics. On the contrary, genuine, personalized healthcare isn't tactically technology-reliant. Instead, it strategically enhances its efficient conveyance and eases the cost of the services rendered.
Millennial Trust and over-reliance on technology is pronounced to the level where decision-makers or leaders favorably select their ability in a given area of responsibility vis-Ã -vis scientific or technical knowledge. That is in contrast to the physician and patient Baby boomer's distrust of technology.
But this must change!
For the time being, we must discuss the vacuum created within the healthcare system that is drawing in the wrong personalized healthcare infrastructure as the upshot of the polarity within the present-day super volatile generation.
Undoubtedly, the current healthcare inclination is on the fast track in the direction of "one-size-fits-all" medicine. Baby Boomers picture this as they have been on the train since the departure from the initial station, but are millennials looking for cookie-cutter medical care?!- Yet the study reveals otherwise.
According to a recent issue in Forbes magazine, millennials have six expectations from their prevailing Healthcare system that must conform to their needs.
First and foremost- they want to take their personal healthcare into their own hands, not only by being part of the decision-making process but also be the ultimate decision-maker of what personally makes more sense to them.
Second- They would like the system to understand that patients do their homework before any clinic visit by researching the problem.
Third- They expect transparency and Up-Front Cost Estimates for the clinic visits and medical services.
Fourth- The younger generation prefers whatever fits in the palm of their hands or accessible by the computer. They trust in Apps as the primary instrument to colligate with the world- that includes medical care.
Fifth- for millennials being Healthy has a different Meaning. Being not Sick is not enough choice anymore. They need the best and what's the best fit for their lifestyle.
Sixth- the growing generation of patients seems to handle healthcare with a consumer posture like any other commodity, including shopping for health insurance, physician services.
Although not new among U.S. citizens, a phenomenon has gained unprecedented popularity and is being adopted in countries worldwide, yet where utilitarian population health has had its way.
The trendy passage in millennial defiance towards medical service is the typical predication of the market traction for personalized healthcare and consumerism, prompting physicians to take the leadership of this transition by helping patients bear the volatility of the healthcare landscape. Physician baby boomers use their wisdom of what truly personalized care must claim their domain and work towards solving the evolving misconception about personalized medicine, healthcare, and precision and how they differ from genomics.
The modern attitude of the younger generations has led to significant dissatisfaction towards how they are receiving medical care in today's broken healthcare system.
So, according to a recent survey, only 55 % and 67% of the millennials and generation X respectively have a designated primary care physician. With the dissatisfaction and sense of wanting to take their healthcare into their own hands, the younger generation is more inclined to try alternative modes of receiving medical care that is spacious and affordable.
Across the board, traditional care is what patients are receiving today. Short of realizing the current medical delivery scheme is nothing but the corporatized version of the century-old population healthcare model forced to alter physicians' practice today.
Let's not overlook that every patient knows what they need, but they receive care from the wrong places and for the wrong reasons with the prevailing generation posture. Concomitantly, worthwhile to comprehend is that the growing trend of consumerism among the millennials is the driving force for those changes in health care. Such factors include expectations for Speedy Delivery, reliance on the Word-of-Mouth marketing like online reviews, online Looking up the disease or goods before committing to buy, expectations for good faith and upfront estimates, wanting to delay care due to high cost. In fact, for non-urgent health concerns, millennials are twice as likely to act on health advice found online, including from sources like social media.
Online search is reasonable, providing they don't serve as the ultimate decision-making contrivance without open discussion with the treating physician. But, the credulous personal search result in the face of cynicism in healthcare confidence is the basis for a practically more significant problem. The legitimacy of the patient expectations is confirmed, the population health mission is well-defined, and the government stratum of engagement in healthcare is overwhelmingly apparent, but is the government doing everything to bring the millennial request into reality?
Moreover, the bulging of the millennial distrust of doctors and healthcare is a vibrant indication that the administration has failed to take on that inception layer.
The Etiology of Patient Distrust in Medicine is a multifaceted one
The telltale manifesto of physician estrangement from the healthcare stage, corporate takeover, technocracy attitude, over-reliance on technology with little or no targeted validation, and security oversight.
The government's efforts have been counterproductive towards fulfilling market requirements, as physicians are reluctantly preoccupied with conforming with inside information of the erroneous solutions. At the same time, non-clinical entities are privileged to take over the medical landscape. Realistically, physicians shouldn't have to worry about reimbursement disputes or how, how much, and who will recoup for the services they provide.
Topics like surprise bills are redundant in a doctor-patient relationship. Instead, physicians must control health technology business and operational requirements or what is shared on social media. Everyone from patients to physicians and government to stakeholders needs to agree that the technology alone is insufficient to accost patients' needs. There's more to medicine than a payment system, consumerism, and insurance.
The Resolution is at the Grassroots
There's a particular need for physicians Baby Boomer's role towards embracing technology, educating the millennial on the importance of the human factor as the player of the central role in coordinating interrelationship between the patient, physicians, and the technology, while incorporating the medical care into patient's own Hands.
Researching disease, whether online or word of mouth, is an everyday phenomenon. Every physician should welcome it during each visit. Repellence of appreciating patient's self-motivation would add more flame to the already lighted distrust among the millennial list of concerns. The ocean of raw, legit, and false information is accessible to the patients. Hence it may be wiser for physicians to help them rectify and reclassify those data for the welfare of their patients.
Upfront cost estimates and transparency is of significant importance. Nonetheless, with today's third-party payer protocols, the complex reimbursement process, as well as the enormous power the insurance industry holds over the current legislative system, only the grassroots, can aid swing that transparency towards a better and sustainable healthcare system.
Technology has been developed to ensure price transparency, efficacy, and ease of data accessibility at our fingertips. Still, medical science hasn't expanded enough to cover its core domain within the software industry. It indeed lacks moral lapse in its business requirements, deep learning algorithms, and mathematical functions. Millennials want a lot of Apps. However, it would be helpful if healthcare experts precisely validate the science behind the gadgets.
Incorrect tools in the wrong hands with the bad people are as dangerous as a "sword in the palm of a minor."
It's time to redefine health and wellness to meet modern patient expectations. Being Healthy for the millennial is beyond avoiding sickness or healing from a disease. Patients want to live longer, stay active, stay youthful, look attractive, and thrive.
The modern citizen's job and future prospective rely on staying vitally competitive. For them shopping for health insurance is no different from bargain hunting for any other commodity or service. But the 21st-century monopoly inside the insurance industry and insufficient cost transparency, inability to buy coverage across state lines, or even a short period purchase is merely counter to fair market competition. More digital options, more retail clinics are the most minor of our medical system needs, as they can be implemented at any point of time- by whom or how is the controversy.
Large corporations are racing to plan retail amenities but are deprived of physician's input in the logistics. Physicians are missing from the health technology equation or don't occupy a central role besides some user interface (UI) requirements.
I don't need to disagree with the author's comments in Forbes magazine entirely, yet I must respectfully differ from the physicians' notion of millennial distrust. Patients, irrespective of the generation they belong indeed trust their physicians. That is because no one in the right mind with logical reasoning power would trust something as sacred as health and life without the special relationship or commitment to being cared for by someone they don't count.
I trust patients have lost their faith in the healthcare system. The author may assume that not trusting healthcare is, in fact, distrust of physicians. Today's healthcare is by no means about physicians because it has been relentlessly hijacked by corporate utilitarianism. Not surprising, smearing physicians has been the way to go for third-party interests.
Millennials need to find the proper personalized care by seeking professional help from the corresponding domain experts from every industry; that includes medical specialties. We must incorporate technology leadership of the healthcare realm into the medical school curriculum. Millennial Physicians must meet millennial patients at the turning point of changing medical landscape by utilizing the help of baby boomer physician's wisdom for personalized healthcare for everyone.
#Millennials #healthcare
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