Exploring the Blueprint Homeschooling Gave Medicine

The Current State of Medical Institutions

As I have previously discussed, our medical institutions, ranging from hospitals and licensing boards to medical schools and professional societies, are not serving us well. The myriad of issues plaguing these institutions makes short-term reform or repair seem unfeasible, if not impossible. There are too many entrenched financial and other interests that are unlikely to willingly give up their ground.

A Possible Way Forward

However, I would like to propose a rough blueprint for progress. Any immediate hopes for a significant reform or even a slight moderation of the medical system seem to be in vain. I believe a more effective strategy would involve, as much as possible, disregarding the official structures of the medical regime and establishing new ones. These would be small-scale initiatives where decentralized medical care can be revived and patients can be empowered to take charge of their own health. This is akin to what the Czech dissidents of the 1970s referred to as a "parallel polis" for medical institutions.

The Concept of Parallel Institutions

These parallel institutions would supplement the beneficial and necessary functions that are lacking in the existing structures, and wherever possible, would utilize those existing structures to humanize them. These initiatives do not necessarily need to lead to a direct conflict with mainstream medical institutions. At the same time, this strategy does not harbor any illusions that superficial changes to mainstream medicine can make any significant difference.

Creating New Medical Models

In these new medical models, physicians should be able to exercise individualized clinical judgment and appropriate discretionary latitude. Doctors should primarily work for patients and only secondarily for institutions. To assist individuals, families, and small communities in reclaiming their ability to self-govern, we must help people overcome their fear and find their courage.

Decentralizing Authority

The new medical institutions must be rooted in technologies and models of decentralized communications and information sharing, dispersed authority, and localized markets. For instance, subscription-based models of direct primary care, which bypass Medicare and other third-party payers, are emerging around the country and in many cases proving financially viable.

The Homeschooling Parallel

Consider the homeschooling movement in the United States as an example. In 1973, there were 13,000 homeschoolers; today there are 5 million. The homeschool movement created a parallel polis, reclaiming the idea of self-education and autonomous learning that had been monopolized by those with advanced degrees in education.

Medicine's Homeschool Movement

Medicine today needs its own equivalent of the homeschool movement. Ordinary people need to reappropriate the idea of self-care and autonomous healing that has been monopolized by physicians and other healthcare professionals. Just as homeschooling deinstitutionalized education, so we need to demedicalize healthcare, at least to some extent.

The Hippocratic Society

In the realm of organized medicine, one example of a parallel, alternative medical society that I recently helped establish along with three other doctors from Duke, Harvard, and Stanford is The Hippocratic Society. The society exists to form and sustain clinicians in the practice and pursuit of good medicine.

The Future of Parallel Institutions

If we succeed in building parallel institutions that can help restore medicine, the gains will be worth every effort. Renewal is possible if we put our hand to the plow and do the work.

Bottom Line

While the current state of medical institutions is concerning, the concept of creating parallel institutions offers a glimmer of hope. Drawing inspiration from the homeschooling movement, the medical field can potentially create a new model that empowers patients and decentralizes authority. However, this is a long-term vision that requires concerted effort and commitment. What are your thoughts on this blueprint for medicine? Do you think it's feasible? Share your thoughts with your friends and consider signing up for the Daily Briefing, which is available every day at 6pm.