“Every patient is the only patient. Everywhere. All the time.”
I received the following inquiry regarding the first and most important principle of our healthcare revolution.
I call it the first "Fishism."
Question:
What does “only one patient every-time" mean if your poor or simply lower middle class? How would this work?
Reply:
All too often, we hear people say silly things about important issues.
I sometimes hear people say unpleasant and ignorant things. One example would be that poor people and/or minorities never get acceptable health care. Occasionally, I also come across the insinuation that it’s “their fault” that they can’t get care for themselves. Obviously, both ‘beliefs’ are not just incorrect, they’re toxic. "Every patient is the only patient. Everywhere. All the time.” deals with these two statements without pausing to argue with either one. Those simple words request that we be neither righteously indignant nor malignantly contemptuous. We need all our energy for the fight ahead of us.
Let’s be clear. Everybody should understand those old ways of thinking and setting the goal too low doesn’t work. It’s a fact that chronic, unjust, and obvious, political, economic, social disparities mean that, overall, the poor and/or minorities good much worse healthcare overall. It’s a fact that this reality is sinking the whole of America (refer to previous blogs for more explanation). It's time for all of us to accept that America is not a meritocracy[1], or at least not a healthy and fair one.
One the other hand, let’s not fall into the trap of going after specific issues without agreeing on where we want the “American Experiment” and its healthcare to go. At a minimum, we must get out of the cycle of trying to plug up a leaking dam with tape. That is especially true with healthcare. That’s why the first Fishism is what it is. That's why it sets the bar is so high. That’s why it’s so comprehensive. "Every patient is the only patient. Everywhere. All the time.” pulls us towards where American healthcare should have always been, and where it must be.
More specifically, here is what "Every patient is the only patient. Everywhere. All the time." means:
- Everyone in the healthcare industry is responsible for providing a superlative service to every patient. Everybody from the desk clerk to the CEO, and each person in between, (especially physicians), is responsible for every single patient's specific experience.
- Patients are required to be deeply involved and responsible for their own health.
- Every American should make a new and deliberate effort to show compassion for their neighbor’s (or even stranger’s) physical well-being Everyone giving, receiving, or involved in healthcare, are asked to consider our common humanity before anything else. “Every patient is the only patient. Everywhere. All the time." Is not new. If it sounds something like calling on the “…better angels of our nature.” [2], you’re right.
It might be a bit challenging to understand a single Fishism without relating it to all of them. The Heart of a Doctor book series will explain and relate all the Fishisms to each other. I hope that will make the individual principles much more understandable, clear, and practical.
[1] https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meritocracy
[2] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Abraham_Lincoln%27s_First_Inaugural_Address