Health Care Solution: Get Vets Involved
I know two things: There is a Health Care Crisis in America and we are all part of the Animal Kingdom.
If we can all agree on this then I believe Mr. Sneiv can help reduce the overall cost of healthcare in America.
My pilot program will take place in the Hamptons. Once it has been proofed, the East End will be known as more than just a great place to live and play. It will be known as the birthplace revolutionizing the way we deliver healthcare in America. Let me elaborate.
In May, I had a mole removed at my regular physicians office. The total cost of the bill for the minor surgery and follow-up was $1,854. Shortly thereafter my vet in Southampton removed a cyst from my Australian Kelpie’s underbelly and the cost was a mere $348. Why the disparity in costs? A mole and a cyst are very similar and require about the same amount of time for removal. These events got me thinking.
Why is it that a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) can’t offer their services to pet owners? In fact, in some ways, a DVM has to be more skilled than a regular Doctor of Medicine (MD). Their patients can’t specifically communicate their area of discomfort and thus assessment and diagnosis skills have to be heightened. Veterinarians also have to be versatile. All humans are pretty much made the same but a DVM may be treating animals that range from two legs to four legs or even no legs. Their patients may fit in a teacup or weigh over a ton.
So yes, I have a lot of respect for veterinarians and in fact, I hold them in higher esteem than MDs. I love my dogs like they were my children. I trust them to my vet. So why wouldn’t I let my veterinarian treat me if I was feeling ill?
Eureka! DVMs should be able to treat people as well as their pets. If they can diagnose and treat a primate, why not a human? If they can set the broken leg of a dog, why not a child? Vet’s can diagnose a dog with rabies but can’t treat a person with rabies? That is just crazy.
If DVMs were allowed to treat humans, it would help solve the Healthcare Crises. If you are already at the vet’s for your pet, why not have the DVM give you a check up at the same time? You are already in the exam room with your pet anyhow so the additional cost will be minimal. Vet Assistants make less than Registered Nurses so that adds to the reduced costs as well.
“Dr. Michaels, you have a Golden Retriever that has been limping and a plumber with flu symptoms in exam room two.”
Most important, vets charge far less than MDs. The result: SAVINGS.
Human patients should welcome the idea. I have personally found that the receptionists at the vets are far nicer and more compassionate than at a regular doctors offices. My personal physician has never kissed me but my vet routinely kisses my dogs on the head and scratches them on their backs as well. And vets are not prejudiced or judgmental. They treat a Chihuahua named Bailey with the same amount of compassion and care as an American Bulldog named Butkus. Black Labs, Yellow Labs, Irish Setters…skin color doesn’t matter to the vet.
Euthanasia and assisted suicide will not be an issue under my plan. Vets are already allowed to end the lives of their patients, if it is determined that they are lacking a quality of life. So if you take your 15-year-old Labrador and your 98-year-old grandmother to the vet at the same time, they can both be put down without you or the DVM having to face criminal charges. This will also eliminate what could have amounted to some very hefty hospital or nursing home charges.
How come neither one of the Presidential candidates have thought of this? They both claim to love animals and to be concerned about Health Care in America.
I have even come up with a slogan for my vet, “No animal too big-No animal too small-Pets and Humans-We treat them all.”
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