Sicko Case Study

A nation’s healthcare system plays a pivotal role in the overall well being of it’s citizens, and it can also be a significant factor in their citizen's viewpoint towards their government. The documentary Sicko, by Michael Moore examines America’s profitable healthcare system in contrast to other countries government based health care systems such as: Canada, U.K, France, and Cuba. This documentary does an outstanding job of giving a balanced and well rounded view because of the amount of evidence used and examined. On top of comparing the American healthcare system to Canada’s, this documentary goes into depth of the healthcare systems in France, United Kingdom, and Cuba. This allows the viewer to get the full perspective

This movie went around the world to different countries to show the comparisons and differences in healthcare compared to each other and the U.S. The first country that was visited was the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom spends 8.3% of their GDP on healthcare. The citizens pay nothing for premiums, all of it is paid trough taxation. Some services require co-pay, but all young people and all elderly are exempt from drug co-pays. The United Kingdom calls their healthcare system “socialized medicine”; the government provides for and pays for all healthcare. The taxes that Britons pay gets distributed up to different healthcare providers. Since the United Kingdoms’ system is taxed,

The documentary "Sicko" provides an extensive analysis of the different drawbacks of the American healthcare framework. Michael Moore, the director, is upfront with regards to the dissipation of statistical data and portrayal of real-life stories of the healthcare in other nations is better in comparison to that of the US. It is interesting to see the director careful utilize experiences from the Cuba, France, and the UK. A lot of film critics have issued a lot of reviews regarding the significance of the movie in highlighting the real image of the healthcare framework (Zaccagnini & White, 2015, p.110). For example, the illustration of Cuba's health system seems a bit far-fetched to the critics. All in all, Michael Moore does an adequate job in drawing comparisons from the other significant healthcare plans as a way of depicting the ailing form of America's health system.

The United States health care system is unique among other advanced countries. This system does not have a central governing agency, it is delivered under imperfect market conditions, there are multiple players and payers, and there is no universal health care coverage (Shi & Singh, 2015, p. 9). In a time where healthcare reform is being discussed, it is important for the United States to consider what is proactive as well as what is failing the system. That is what Sick Around The World did; the documentary compared five other countries’ (United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, and Switzerland) healthcare systems to see how they stacked up against the United States.

In the 21st century with many developing countries around the world providing universal healthcare, but efforts in the United States are unsuccessful in implementing health reforms. In the documentary (Frontline) examines the worsening economy and broken healthcare system around the United States. With millions of Americans losing jobs, unemployed, uninsured and leading to bankruptcy, which has taken a toll on peoples lives and the healthcare system. This paper will examine and discuss the care identified in Sick Around America and some of the dilemmas they face in keeping it. As well discussing the major differences between the USA and the Canadian healthcare systems.

When it comes to the U.S. healthcare system, there are two sides of the argument. Some Americans may argue that the U.S. healthcare system is the best in the world given the many state-of-the-art healthcare facilities and innovative and advanced medical technology available, and there are those who argue that it is too costly and inefficient on many different levels (Chua, 2006). Despite the large amount of spending invested on their healthcare system, the U.S. consistently underperforms on most indicators of performance compared to other countries (Davis, Stremikis, Squires, & Schoen, 2014). Healthcare costs such as doctor visits, hospital stays, and prescription drugs are more expensive in the U.S. than any other country in the world.

2008 was an election year and also the year Frontline’s program, Sick Around the World was made. A big topic pertaining to the election year was healthcare reform. How were the presidential candidates going to “fix” the U.S. health care system that is supposedly the best in the world? At the time of this program, the U.S. was 37th in the world in terms of fairness and quality (Palfreman, 2008). Other rich countries were ahead of this U.S. in this ranking but were spending a lot less. Frontline’s reporter, T.R. Reid traveled to 5 different countries to examine their health care systems on how this was possible and hopefully come away with any ideas that could potentially help with the U.S. health care system.

Steven Brill’s, America’s Bitter Pill, finds that there is a common theme among all factors of healthcare: access is restricted, the cost is unwarranted, and quality is disproportionate to the costs.

In 2007 documentary Sicko Michael Moore addresses the issue of America’s health care system. This topic has been in continuous debate among our political leaders for many years now. Michael Moore believes America’s health system is morally corrupt which is unreasonable for being the wealthiest country in the world. In many instances throughout the film, he argues the fact that the American health care system is subject to fraudulent decisions, aiming towards governmental funds, rather than the rights of American citizens. Furthermore, he compares health care conditions from around the world, arguing that countries with this benefit are much better

The article exposes a side of the US health care system that is harsh and costly to the sick in hospitals. Medical care should be reachable and accessible, and the author expounds the point by giving brief points on how to make it possible. The author compares the US to other countries with fairly cheaper health cover and costs. The Author compares US to Switzerland and some of the countries that have a fairly advanced healthcare system like that of the US. In addition, the author of the article sought to reveal the areas that need a revisit to avoid fleecing the citizens of up to three times the cost of health

Our world has been radically transformed by digital technology – smart phones, tablets, and web-enabled devices have transformed our daily lives and the way we communicate. Medicine is an information-rich enterprise. A greater and more seamless flow of information within a digital health care infrastructure, created by electronic health records (EHRs), encompasses and

Health care costs currently exceed around twenty percent and continue to rise where other countries spend less of their funding on health care but have the same increasing trend. An aging population and the development of new treatments are cause for some of the increase. Unrealistic incentives also contribute: third-party insurance companies and governments who reimburse for procedures performed rather than outcomes achieved, and patients bear little responsibility for the cost of the health care services they demand. However, few acknowledge a more fundamental source of increasing costs: the system by which those costs are measured. Honestly, there is almost a complete lack of understanding of how much it costs to deliver patient care,

As we are aware the world has been drastically transforming with technology. Web enable devices have changed our daily lives and the way we communicate. Medicine has said to be an “information rich enterprise”. This is created by a more prominent and more consistent stream of data inside a computerized infrastructure, made by electronic health records. This can transform the way care is delivered and compensated.

With the use of informatics, better patient care delivery can be accomplished through EHRs (Electronic Health Records). EHRs allow PCPs (primary care physicians) and specialists to view patient cares anywhere, anytime via mobile, Multi-purpose Devices (MMD). MMDs will have phones, embedded health-coach software, GPS, instant messaging, camera, music player, and e-money dispenser. The health-coach software serves as a reminder for annual checkups and anticipates the patients’ needs by keeping accurate updated information as it is inputted as well as automated programs scanning the Internet or documented medical service databases for updated information pertaining to the patient’s condition and genomic type. Having all documentation and

For the Healthcare system, a program can be set for the healthcare management that can improve transforming of data through information technology. E-health was one of them, which is an essential part of the future technologies that deal with integrating mobile-based systems for the healthcare database. "It offers the potential to expand access to healthcare significantly, to improve its quality, to reduce its costs and paper, and the ways of the research" (p.1). Nowadays, for "payments by mobile and demonstrating the health record" of a person are being used through Healthcare Apps (p. 317-336). Organizations have encouraged many hospitals and other healthcare providers to use wireless systems. Meanwhile, providers have proved themselves by adapting to new things, such as the "Healthcare Apps" that perform specific tasks quicker. For example, if a person wants to pay his/her hospital's bill within two transactions and not have to do any