Civil Society/Medicine/Overview

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"Hospitals will quote prices for parking, not procedures."
The Chicago Tribune


 There are over 30 hospitals in Philadelphia proper, excluding entirely the satellite hospitals in the suburbs of Montgomery and Bucks counties. Most of these are owned by one of the large health care corporations which dominate the region. Many are operated on behalf of various religious groups, and still more are operated under the auspices of one of the many local universities. Health Care is big business in the Philadelphia region with companies like Merck and Johnson & Johnson developing drugs in the suburbs, and sprawling health care companies snatching up hospitals across the region in order to 'streamline care' which is typically corporate speak for maximizing profits.

 Several universities in the region feature teaching and research hospitals where cutting edge procedures and technologies are being developed, and the city itself is home to the first hospital in the country dedicated solely to the care of children at the now famous Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Overall, the quality of care is quite exceptional on an in-patient basis, while out-patient care and Emergency Room care are subject to all the ills of the US healthcare system. Long waits, mistreatment by doctors and staff, and poor outcomes.

 People across the region need care and cannot afford it. This leads to forestalled treatment that makes chronic conditions into acute episodes, clogging the emergency rooms and leading to shoddy health outcomes, mounting medical debts, and loss of revenue for the hospitals themselves. In short, Philadelphia's health care infrastructure is symptomatic of the national need for immediate and profound health care reform.