Hygeia Healthcare Model

Introduction

Within the traditions of Greece there were two options which dealt with healthcare delivery. The first one was the Aesculapius option which was a strict patient and healthcare provider model that we have followed to this day. The second one was the Hygeia option which was a public health model that focused on the on the prevention of public interest. I truly believe that the issues today in our healthcare system are due to the Aesculapius option we chose to follow. Prevention is the key to all our issues today and has been since then. I will explain what our healthcare system would be like today if we would have chose the Hygeia option instead.

The Hygeia Healthcare Model

What would the healthcare system look like? The key in this model is preventive care. I feel that if we had started our healthcare system this way to begin with we would have prevented a lot of problems that we face today. This system today would allow equal coverage for all individuals. Individuals would not have to pay out of pocket. This system would also help prevent any health issues in the future such as cancer and stroke. Some of the benefits of this option would be the acceleration of opportunities for the undeserved, the empowerment of families in their communities, the embracement of humanism, the promotion of advocacy without prejudice, and the influence in long run on health and well being of the economically undeserved communities. There are always some downfalls to any system. The downfalls of this type of system would be confinement of technology growth and a large tax. With preventive care we would not need growth in technology.

What would be its primary legal, ethical, and moral obligations and why? The legal obligations would not change. Rights would still have to be respected no matter what. All information would still have to be kept confidential at all times.

Some ethical obligations under this model would be to realize dignity and self worth and assuring privacy and confidentiality. Dignity and self worth are important to any patient we serve. If they don’t have these two things then it would be very hard to serve them well.

One moral obligation under this model would be to improve the health of the undeserved populations because this would help reduce major disparities such as