Metaphors for medicine

Some people like to compare healthcare to food, when talking about economics. I'm fond of the school metaphor. Both are interesting to me - imagining if other systems ran like the current medical system. Or if medicine ran like them.

If medicine were like school, everyone would get a basic level of service provided for free. You could spend your own money on extras, but the necessary basics would be provided. And in Oregon at least, when the economy sours and tax revenue is down, services would be cut. I don't know what the medical equivalent of art and sports is, but that's the "rationing" that some fear. I have to point out that medical care is rationed now - my health insurance rejects various prescriptions on a regular basis, demanding that we try a cheaper generic first.

The food metaphor is interesting - if groceries were like health care, our employers would pay most of the cost of "food insurance", and whenever we went to the store we could get whatever foods we wanted, and it would always cost $20. That would give me an incentive to buy more expensive foods rather than making do with generics or doing without delicious Brie.

But the metaphor has a problem - I have more information about food than I do about health. If I get a rash, or feel ill, I don't have the knowledge to tell the difference between a deadly disease and a random irritant. If I have a growth appear on my arm, I'm not equipped to make the best decision about how to spend money to treat it. It could be cancer, or it could be a harmless mole. But I'm not a doctor. If I pay out of pocket the full price of all my medical expenses (as I do with food), then I might not get that mole looked at because I think it's not worth it. And what could have been treated cheaply now will cost much much more later.

Not to mention the impact food has on our health and the cost of healthcare. I think the people who fear government regulating food to make it be more healthy are right that it's going to happen. I just don't think it's a bad thing. We should know how many calories are in a burger, so we might actually eat food that's good for us.