The demise of modern medicine and gastroenterology

A country that once led technological development in health care now leads the charge back to the cave, from which it took mankind 2 million years to emerge. The problems in U.S. health care are not simple. Therefore, there are no simple solutions. True health-care reform can be accomplished only via improved and unbiased public education, identification of the role for primary care, and the need for sub- and sub-subspecialties. Government has an important role, but even more importantly, as a nation, our priorities for rewards require careful reevaluation. Suppliers and consumers must sit down at the same table, realizing that basic health care is not responsive to the usual supply and demand theories proposed by economists. Only then can health care reform be considered a positive change.