The Hippocratic Oath: Availability
“That I will not, for any reason, refuse my highest abilities to those who seek my professional skills.”
How simple and common sensical is this statement about access or availability of a physician to his or her patients?
Described above is the high standard system of medical care I stepped into in 1985 in Sacramento which eroded into the low standard system of “healthcare insurance” that I left in 2004. The problem was, and remains, that nobody is seeking the services of competent physicians anymore! Did I or other physicians breach our covenant with patients? No, we did not.
The breach of availability of doctors to patients that Newsom and his predecessors have pulled off is on you and Newsom, friends. That may sound harsh, but it’s meant to be tough love. I will never, for any reason, refuse my highest abilities to those who seek my counsel regarding the business of medicine and surgery, especially if it is voluntary and thus free of charge to you, if you are seeking it. I long for the very best, the strongest, the most competitive, and economical medical system in California history, and so do many thousands of California physicians who want free (of government tyranny and control) medicine just like I do.
The problem with the sick healthcare system all over this beautiful state of California is in the consumer of healthcare services and the tyrant. Many people aren’t seeking doctors now. They seek a cheap “quick fix” for when they have pain or sickness and don’t want their complacent lifestyles attacked. Their mantra is …“Going to the doctor should be hassle free. Just fix the problem and don’t lecture me; I’ve got more important things to do”. They avoid critical thinking and studying the universal dismal outcomes of Newsom’s horrible state-run healthcare, and thus don’t fight it. They simply live with it and will do so until any notion of medical help is completely gone. That myopic insight is what I am attempting to cure you of. It is because you are much, much better than that.
Duped into suboptimal existence
You had a choice (or your parents did) when you selected “Newsom therapy”, and your choice was wrong. It is because the cunning, power-hogging, controlling Newsom will absolutely, for any random or arbitrary reason, engage in the activities of stealing, lying, and killing your body, your soul, and your assets until you are dead. He will charm you right out of your socks. You have been duped into a suboptimal existence of bondage to Newsom, and sadly are your own worst bitter enemy. Let me tell you something one more time that is true. You are way, way better than that! Do not doubt me.
Why is it that when you are forced to go to the doctor, or better said “the healthcare worker”, you are not impressed? It’s because you are not receiving the services you seek. Nobody cares now, right? It is becoming clearer all the time. And now is time to start caring again, because the careless healthcare system you are experiencing is 100% fixable. You and I simply must conquer Newsom and his deadly regime. We must care about each other’s welfare again, better than ever before, and be victors over our circumstances, not victims of those circumstances.
Do you remember the old days when you had a neighborhood hardware store that seemed to have all the products you needed for your home and yard? When I went to my hardware store in West Sacramento, the owner and the competent employees would always say “Hello doc, what can I help you with”, and they would always have just what I needed and gave great advice for my D-I-Y projects. That was amazing and top-notch service also known as merit and loving competition.
Then came Home Depot. They squeezed those cherished family run hardware stores out of business. Can you even get someone to help you at Home Depot? That’s what happened when Newsom ran my medical colleagues and I out of downtown Sacramento and replaced us with healthcare workers. There is no competent, friendly help available now.
The signs and symptoms of weak, dependent, fearful, and hopeless sick Californians are evident to me (a diagnostician by trade), the result of the poisoning of Newsom and his regime. It doesn’t feel good, does it? Where is your quality of life now? Where is the enthusiasm of existence now? Where are competition and merit-based success? We are much, much better than that.
Make high-quality healthcare available again
Which takes us back to the first sentence of this paper about adherence to or breach of availability. Why don’t you and I make a simple deal, Mr. and Mrs. California, which doesn’t include Newsom in any way, shape, or form. If we get rid of the parasite, access becomes very efficient, and the relationship is stellar and strong.
And don’t misinterpret this discussion as a “pep talk” but call it marching orders designed to make high quality medical care the law of the state again. The trade between doctors and patients is not to be meddled with, and the law is on our side. Nowhere in our Constitution does it say that government has any claim whatsoever of the operation of the art of medicine. Getting involved lets you and I resuscitate availability. Don’t be naysayers. Naysayers are miserable losers, right out of the gate. They lack spunk. They aren’t ready for action. There is no limitation to caring for each other, and yes, that care is truly divine!
As with all six of the covenants, we ask the same four questions regarding availability:
Is medical care affordable?
Is medical care competent?
Is medical care satisfying?
Is medical care safe?
Thank you for spending a little time to think carefully about availability, because it is you who will decide the future history of the medical profession.
Read previous articles in this series on the covenants of the Hippocratic Oath: Honor, Teaching, and Limitations.