Slaves of a modern healthcare system

By Buzz Lamb
Staff Writer

Dr. Walter McConnell knows a challenge when he sees it. Dr. McConnell has climbed Mount Everest three times. In 1997 he biked across the U.S. with a group from Bucknell University, his alma mater and for 30 years he was the top master runner in his age group in the state of New Jersey.
Dr. McConnell, 78, retired from the medical profession in 2000 but he has always kept his finger on the pulse of healthcare in the U.S. Dr. McConnell’s latest challenge entails being one of the executive producers of a documentary titled “Money Driven Medicine.”
According to Dr. McConnell, the documentary was produced by Gabriel Film Group and Alex Gibney, director of the Oscar-winning “Taxi to the Dark Side.” It takes a look at the American medical marketplace and explores why, when it comes to healthcare, money can’t buy everything. It is directed by Andy Fredericks.
The documentary was inspired by the book, “Money Driven Medicine: The Real Reason Why Health Care Costs So Much,” by Maggie Mahar. Its New York Premiere was held on June 17, 2009 in New York City at the Society for Ethical Culture. According to Dr. McConnell, the 83-minute film explores how a profit-driven health care system squanders billions of healthcare dollars while exposing millions of patients to unnecessary or redundant tests. “We’ve got to get a handle on this,” Dr. McConnell said.
According to the website www.moneydrivenmedicine.net the United States has the most expensive healthcare in the world. Americans spend at least two-and-a-half times per person more on healthcare than any other developed country. But what are we getting in return for all that money?
Dr. McConnell said one of the major problems with healthcare these days is that medical students who graduate are virtually forced into specialization in order to repay student loans. “The lack of primary care in this country is going to cause serious problems if we don’t correct that situation,” he said. “At one point in my career, I got so disgusted with the way the medical profession was going in general that I co-authored a book called “Malignant Decisions.”
Dr. McConnell said Senator Mike Balkus (Montana), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, has recently addressed the issues of the lack of primary care. Balkus highlighted a new concept called the “medical home” in legislation he introduced last fall. Dr. McConnell and Dr. Dan Larsen from Hudson Headwaters Healthcare produced a YouTube video as well. In the video the two discuss primary care and what to do about it.
The “medical home” concept is based on the idea that stronger relationships between patients and their primary care doctors will save money in the long run. A “medical home” would coordinate all of a patient’s needs. Proponents point to research showing that 30 to 40 percent of medical care is unnecessary.
“Somewhere along the way, doctors gave up being decision makers. The decision making was taken over by insurance companies, HMOs and hospital administrators,” Dr. McConnell lamented. “They were telling us what we could do or what we couldn’t do even though I felt it might not be in the best interest of my patient.” In the documentary, Mahar says the word “care” is the keyword. “Is it just medical care or someone who cares?” she asked. “A physician puts his patient’s interest above all else. A corporation puts its stockholder’s interest above all else.”
In remarkably candid interviews, both doctors and patients tell stories of a system where medicine has become a business. “We are paid to do things to patients,” says one doctor. “We are not paid to talk to them.”
According to Dr. McConnell, Chris Matonti, a 1994 Bucknell graduate and president of Gabriel Film Group in New York City, asked Dr. McConnell to do a synopsis of what he felt the issues in healthcare were. “I wrote them all up and sent them to Chris,” Dr. McConnell said after Gibney read his one-page diagrammatic. He said, “Oh, Walter must have read Maggie’s book.” He had not yet read Mahar’s book but, after reading it, he said he realized at that point they were on the same page as far as the issues were concerned. That’s when he decided to join the 26-person investor team.
Dr. McConnell said the documentary in essence does not necessarily offer solutions. “It brings up all of the issues for people to look at,” he said. “It is an educational thing… these are the problems that are affecting our healthcare system.” Dr. McConnell said his YouTube video actually suggests solutions to the primary care crisis.
He went on to say “We have to give everyone in this country access to a healthcare system.” Yet he said he is opposed to universal healthcare. “Ask the Canadians if they are happy with their system,” he said.
Dr. McConnell feels that there are viable alternatives to President Obama’s healthcare overhaul plan. “My concern is that we already have people telling the doctors what they can and cannot do. Now they want to add the government and I just think that is wrong,” he said. “For example, they’re talking about eliminating certain procedures for those over the age of 65.”
He says that doctors today should be able to sit with a patient and talk about prevention rather than shuffling them in and out, treating them with medications. “It’s very important to talk about wellness rather than me seeing you when you are sick,” he said.
Dr. McConnell said that the vast majority of people who are being seen in the emergency room have insurance. “This is addressed in the documentary,” he said. “They are there because they can’t get in to see a primary care doctor!” He looks at Obama’s plan as a bailout. “Doctors have asked, ‘Can’t we fix it before we finance it?’ I think we are going about it the wrong way… [the government] wants to finance it and then they’ll try to fix it,” he said. “The motivation to fix it should be the fact that it is not being financed.”
Dr. McConnell emphasized that the documentary serves three vital purposes: get informed, get involved and be heard. “People will have a better understanding of our healthcare system after they view the film. They can go to the website and fill out a survey which will feed into Washington,” he added.