I have two classifications of health systems in the world, which seem believable in principle. One, from the World Health Organization (WHO) and another, from the rate of a taxi in Sierra Leone to the annual mortgage interest rate to purchase an apartment in Kyrgyzstan, from a portal designed to inform globetrotters from any country , passing through the quality of the health system in Belarus or Nigeria. Colombia and its health system appear in both rankings, ranking 22nd in WHO and 37th in Numbeo, the name of the Globetrotters portal.
Let’s be pessimistic and accept the worst case scenario of those two sites. In this case, the Colombian health system appears to be better than that of China, Saudi Arabia or Russia, just to name three countries we would have a lot to envy here. The WHO which ranks 22nd among 50 countries is not for throwing travelers, but it is not for tearing your clothes as Gustavo Petro does. 11th in Norway would be better, but it’s a far cry from 39th in Cuba, which Francia Márquez loved when she was in Havana a few weeks ago.
The current government suffers from an evil that is inherent to all leftist governments that have come to power: Adamism, an evil that involves thinking that whatever existed before their arrival was not valid, good or worth considering. And that path leads to this week’s nonsense: the approval by government benches in Congress of Article 123 of health reform, which establishes a doctor’s obligation to “address the health needs of patients.” What is the need of the patient? To be healthy again or not?
Patrista legislators do not know that more than 80 percent of known diseases currently have no cure. From alopecia to Alzheimer’s, through teenage acne, diabetes or Covid. For all the reasons in the world, various associations of medical professionals are in turmoil with a small article, as the eternal president would say, that keeps doctors in the column. The use of the verb “resolve” in the law would have the effect that in Colombia there would be no insurance company to take responsibility for professionals or health institutions.
The Hippocratic Oath, an ancient ethical code considered one of the pillars of medicine, establishes the moral and ethical principles that doctors must adhere to in order to practice the profession. In a section of this Code, the Doctor recognizes the importance of maintaining a humble and honest attitude, acknowledging the limits of one’s knowledge, and seeking to continually learn and improve. Therefore, they usually subject their patients to the treatment.
One would assume that Colombian legislators, and especially paterista political forces, have heard the word healing at least once after a medical visit. The etymological origin of the word goes back to Latin and is synonymous with “management” or “deal with something”. Also to “try”, and you don’t have to be a linguist or a language academic to know that everyone who treats, tries, fumbles and rehearses. In other words, the doctor tries to cure or at least alleviate the ailment that overwhelms his patients.
What more could man want than a visit to a doctor’s office that would mean the end of our ills. And neither the legislators of Colombia nor this government will achieve that miracle by decree. In this way they will only be able to create chaos, create confusion in the society and, at the same time, make a fool of themselves in front of other nations.
Let’s see what other surprises are in store for us in health improvement. And we’ve only just begun.
