hypertext proposal Burke

Topic for Hypertext essay from a committed standpoint

Ignorance and negligence on the part of non-medical professionals

My hypertext proposal is for a website looking at some of the medical issues presently or in the past, and how they have been perceived differently by these different groups. Each different viewpoint will suggest a different course of action for just about everything. From how to get information about the flu, to how to diagnose your disease of choice, there will be disagreement between the factions. I am a relatively well-educated guy who has spent an inordinate amount of time around doctors, other patients, and other people in a medical setting. I have insight into my own position and it is not an unexamined position, since for a while now I have had more than enough reasons to not trust, cooperate, or work with doctors, but for some reason I still do. My experience in the area has also given me an idea of the motivation for people who believe differently than me. In regard to doctors, my mom and me are now friends with one of my former doctors, and I have gotten to know most of my doctors very well by this point. After having seen them over such a long period of time, and outside of the hospital setting as well, I can see and understand a lot of their motivations. In regard to insurance companies, I honestly don’t know them well at all; I’ve simply cost them a lot of money. Luckily this is more than enough of a relationship, since they function solely around money. The media is a relatively easy standpoint to analyze since all you need to do it turn on a tv or look online to get an idea. I will cover what each groups specific suggestion, or inferred suggestion, was for each medical issue, and what the outcome(s) were/are of both the issue and their suggestions.

The conflict: Medicine (all of it)

Best looked at through the analysis of a number of specific medical conflicts, issues, panics, etc.

Swine Flu

Mersa

STD’s (ill specify more depending on evidence found)

Possibly more

My position (generalized)- People who are conscious enough to know they probably aren’t qualified to be making medical decisions and that they should defer to the advise of doctors and medical professionals

An astounding number of people are painfully unaware of their own lack of knowledge of medicine, and yet simultaneously, deem themselves able to make medical decisions that influence not only themselves, and their families, but also the world around them. Lack of knowledge in regard to your own health can be problematic among other things, but that is why we have medical professionals who spend more than 8 years beyond college studying medicine. The real terror in the situation comes from those individuals, who believe to be knowledgeable and able to make medical decisions, without the presence of any sort of medical degree or qualification. This is dangerous, and not just figuratively speaking. The things that are so quickly overlooked by these people while rationalizing their own medical genius to themselves are relevance and credibility. After Googling “flu shot” you see the first entry, which is a news article titled “Many Americans Still Leery of Swine Flu Vaccine‎” (I actually did this.) Thus enforcing your preexisting certainty of the dangers of the flu. This is how these people will prove they arguments as well, and this is nearly as contemptible as their ignorance. The inability to support your own argument logically, with well-founded facts (not containing “google” anywhere in them) is what I would consider to be a basic skill set in this era, particularly if you see yourself fit to make life altering medical decisions. I say “life altering”, and again, I am not speaking figuratively. The flu is an enormously virus in of itself, but there is also another danger when you don’t get vaccinated and you go unchecked. The term “flu-like symptoms” is used frequently in medicine, because they pop up area, but in particular in some of the most deadly diseases and infections.

Opposing Standpoint- People who have deemed themselves fit to make medical decisions for themselves and those who they care for, due to either their own education or reassert, but not medical schooling. These are in essence the people who research online, but don’t consult their medical doctor.

This is America and we have our freedoms. We have the right to determine the way in which we conduct our own medicine, as we do for everything else in the rest of our lives. So long as we aren’t breaking the law, we should be able to do what we like. Similarly, with just a little research we can make educated decisions without involving the influence of medical institutions like doctors, and hospitals. Not everyone gets sick all the time, and many are not nearly as sick as the people who are the hospital.

3^rd Parties-

Medical Professionals- The people who have been deemed qualified by an institution, and not their own opinions, to make medical decisions. Doctors themselves are not universally qualified either, and outside of their specialty, need the assistance of other doctors. Ironically in regard to their health, doctors tend to treat outside of their own specialty, and will be hesitant to reach out for assistance from someone better suited. (This is from personal experience from knowing doctors.) Professionally, doctors have to support and tell others to support my own position, that you should always consult your doctor. Personally though, doctors are incredibly split between the previous two viewpoints. In reality this is slightly justified because they are all doctors and have all received medical degrees which is some amount of qualification, but if it’s enough to justify self treatment outside of their own specialty, is a difficult question since it is different for every doctor and their specialty. (A senior dermatologist probably isn’t qualified to treat himself for a cold, while an internist could conceivably treat themselves for a number of problems)

Insurance Companies- Insurance companies are simple; they want to spend as little money as possible regardless of the correct decision in any other sense. Insurance companies will support the most consistently safe and cost efficient method of medicine. It would be hard to find in writing, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they actually supported some amount of self screening of symptoms before going to the doctor, but ultimately prevention is the best treatment, so they will always support that route.

Media (News networks/TV, internet media/blogs/etc.)- media isn’t affected by this conflict so much as media affects the conflict. As most notably seen in the clusterfuck that was the swine flu scare, the media as a whole went a little overboard as we can now see. Often the media will defer to what the CDC suggests, or another medical institution. Though this would seem to support the first (my) standpoint, the media will often direct you to the internet to get more information of the issue. Though their facts are likely perfect that is rarely the problem in terms of medicine online. Context and interpretation of the information is critical, and any part of the media that’s any good knows this. The information you are looking at is likely not the entire truth of it, or it has been reshapen to make it a more exciting or provocative story.