Friday, September 22, 2006
Taking this as a brief respite from trying to swallow my ID notes whole, just 2 hours before the test. Yx was telling me of a discussion she had with her Prof yesterday, and I found it highly intruiging. The question is, do we have a true University hospital?
If you do a search on local hospitals, you will find that our so-called university hospital proclaims itself to be an "acute care, tertiary hospital". That, of course, takes it one rank higher than a community hospital. But is it truly a university hospital?
From Yx's discussions, university hospitals function as one of those last-resort, state-of-the-art institutions - the latest technology, the latest treatment modalities in accordance with evidence-based medicine, a vibrant clinical research environment, and expert opinions. When all else fails, refer to a university hospital (I suddenly envision Johns-Hopkins and the like, instead of the drab building we're all so familiar with) - with knowledgeable professors and offers of entering trials for new medications.
Instead, we're stuck with mediocre research, frightful patient workloads, little time off (or encouragement) to immerse in clinical research, and of course, our favourite list of standard medications .. Lasix, Span K, Senna. In Yx's words, a university hospital should not concern itself wholly with profit, patient throughput and meeting the baseline expectations of a hospital - it must be everything a standard hospital is not.
Price notwithstanding, which would you choose?
NUH vs. any of the private hospitals locally?
Johns Hopkins vs. any of the private hosptials in Baltimore?
Wenky
9:23 AM
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