When I graduated from medical school back in the Jurassic Era, I was expected to provide medical care, assisted  by nurses, technicians, and others. The unstated idea was that medical care was directed by physicians.

Then it became health care. This implied that we aimed at keeping people in good health rather than treating them when they were already ill. So far, so good. But who was in charge if it was no longer medical care? Probably not physicians.

An example of this is the Director of Public Health for Los Angeles County, our most populous county containing over 10 million inhabitants. She is a PhD in social welfare, but she is called “doctor” and issues pandemic regulations as if she were an MD. And the point is, it no longer matters that she isn’t.

And then health care became healthcare. Why did we begin writing English as if it were German, combining words? Linguistic trivia, or a reflection of something deeper? Perhaps an urge to combine things so they are more easily controlled?

It can’t be just a coincidence that when medical care became healthcare, patients’ freedom decreased. It can’t be just a coincidence that when physicians became healthcare providers, physicians’ freedom decreased. It can’t be just a coincidence that when medical schools and medical organizations become more concerned with “equity” than with actual diseases and treatments, the quality of health care will decrease.

No, it’s not a coincidence. The question is, what are we going to do about it? If we do nothing, soon our health care will be homogenized and bureaucratized into a king-sized replica of the Veterans Affairs system. I wish you good luck and good health. You’ll need both.