Family Physician in Improving Healthcare

¶ … Family Physician in Improving Healthcare Equality

A lack of equality is a sad reality in all societies today. This is particularly sad in Western society, where the general consensus is that equality should be at the order of the day, but practical reality suggests a different ideal than is in fact offered by word of mouth. This is particularly dire in services that can be surmised to be needed by all human beings, such as healthcare. Currently, the reality in most Western countries is that there is a significant inequality in terms of access to healthcare, especially as this concerns minority and disadvantaged groups. Another reality is that, more often than not, those physicians closest to the groups involved, such as family physicians, can plan an instrumental role in providing greater equality in healthcare access for these disadvantaged groups.

Riesberg and Worz (1), for example, note that physicians are often somewhat powerless in the face of policies and political agendas, not to mention insurance aims, to ensure equality of access. Nevertheless, one of the aims of this research is to identify ways in which family physicians can use the power in their hands to circumvent these constraints. Much of the literature, in fact, appears to focus on the larger context. The aim of this research, in turn, will be to investigate a more micro-focused approach.

Fiscella (2), on the other hand, appears to advocate such an approach by focusing on primary care. Primary care, more often than not begins with the family physician. Fiscella's work offers some sense of hope in terms of the increased power of primary physicians to in fact make a difference. Hugo, Couper, Thigiti, and Loeliger (3), on the other hand, focus particularly on the quality of healthcare, arguing that there should not only be equity in access, but also equity in the quality experienced by users of healthcare. The article considers a large amount of data from South Africa to determine the nature of quality, the nature of equality, and the role of the physician in mitigating these.

As such, three research questions have been identified. The first is relatively generic and can be refined as the research progresses: How can family physicians use their communication skills to ensure that those in their care understand their rights and responsibilities when it comes to ensuring equal access to healthcare? The second question concerns a more generic, or general investigation field: How can family physicians ensure that they have sufficient knowledge of the healthcare and insurance system, and impart this knowledge to this in their care, with the main purpose of ensuring as much equity in healthcare access as possible to their charges? Finally, how can family physicians assume an advocating role when clear inequalities are identified in terms of healthcare access?