NEW ERA OF AMERICAN HEALTH CARE: HIGH-TECH MEDICINE
High-tech medicine has also made it possible for specialties to form within the existing specialties. Even to me, it sometimes seems as though there is a specialist for each different cell in the body. For example, the specialties in the ophthalmological field include retinal specialists, corneal specialists, and so on. Surgery has also become extremely focused, so that each organ now has its own superspecialists. Even a radiologist who used to just look at X rays now performs delicate needle biopsies guided by a computer attached to CAT scan equipment.
Alongside this technological explosion in medicine, the amount of medical information Americans receive every day has grown proportionately. As a result, the American population has developed an insatiable thirst for medical knowledge. No matter where you go, to a supermarket or cocktail party, it seems that the talk always seems to turn to the latest news in medicine, from acne treatments to face-lifts. Women from all walks of life are able to talk knowledgeably about the pros and cons of using hormonal therapy to ease the symptoms of menopause, and newspapers, magazines, and TV and radio shows offer constant updates on the newest high-tech diagnostic tools and treatments that sometimes were only invented the previous week. Along with all of this information, I see a lot of misinformation making its way out onto the airwaves and into print. The proliferation of medical trauma shows that appear each night on television only adds to the public’s faulty perceptions about medicine, frequently giving the impression that the practice of medicine is quite simple—a cause, an effect, and subsequent treatment—and that the outcome will always be a happy one for patients and doctors alike.
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