Off on a Bit of a Tangent...

Why am I showing the above 19-second clip? Because it’s around a topic I feel very passionate about- universal health care coverage.

If you’ve seen Michael Moore’s 2008 documentary on the American health care system, Sicko, you are probably aware that he covers the French health care system quite a bit. Part of his coverage includes a look at how a team of French doctors (the SOS Medecins Service) still make house calls.

I mention this because the above is exactly what I witnessed the other night. My host’s six-year old son had an incessant cough for two days and it probably developed into bronchitis. Thus, Ann Marie, Olivier’s wife, called the doctor service at approximately 8:00 pm and a physician was at the home a little after 11:00 pm.

I was amazed by this efficiency and rapidly pointed out to Olivier and Ann Marie that something like this would never happen in America. At best, Ann Marie and her son would be in the pediatrician’s office the next morning.

The house call was not free; it cost 60 Euro. However, they will be reimbursed upon submitting the receipt to the National Social Security Service. But the money is not the big issue here- it’s piece of mind. This doctor came and spent 20-25 minutes with Ann Marie and Olivier, examined their son, gave them some pragmatic advice on caring for him over the next couple of days, and provided some prescription medication for his cough and congestion. Even though this doctor was a complete stranger, the care he provided was professional, personalized and reassuring.

Sure, this is only a snapshot… but it was one that made a huge impression on me. On the way things should be with regard to the way health care is delivered.

I think we could learn a lot from the French…