25 June 2019
On June 25th2019, we had the opportunity to visit Rigshospitalet, the Danish hospital, with Dr. Thomas Frandsen. Dr. Frandsen is a pediatric oncologist who has also been working as a Project Manager for a new maternal and children’s hospital, Børne Riget, that specializes in treating children with severe medical cases.
While Børne Riget is a 2.5 billion Danish kroners project, (approximately 400 million US dollars), the Danish government provided two thirds of the cost and the Lego foundation provided the remainder. The architectural design for the Børne Riget, took approximately 5 years to complete and is kid, family and staff friendly. Each wing is designated to a specific specialty, like oncology or labor/delivery, that way individuals can navigate at ease. Also, with having so many specialties in one hospital, the families don’t need to make dozens of appointments over a long period of time. At Børne Riget, they will be able to have less contact points in a shorter period, which will also provide results quicker. Lastly, doctors, nurses and staff members spent countless hours doing home visits and patient questioning to see what would be best for the patients’ needs at the new hospital.
The mission statement for the hospital is “play with professionalism.” This means that as long as the staff keeps the children happy and entertained, they can do whatever it is they need to without the need to hold them down. By establishing a fun environment, the children becoming more accepting and trusting which puts both parties at an advantage. Dr. Frandsen said that his personal approach is to establish a rapport 5 minutes before practicing any medicine on his patients. Some doctors hope to hold seminars or compose academic journals to spread their mission to other health professionals. However, there is controversy. Some health professionals are resistant to “play with professionalism,” as they think they have to act different and not be themselves.
The most common medical issues for children in Denmark include oncology, malformations, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy, cardiovascular related issues and immune deficiencies. However, in Denmark, everything health related is paid for by income taxes. Depending on the bracket your income falls into, citizens pay between 40-50% of their wages in taxes. For example, a medical doctor makes around 150,000-200,000 US dollars a year, but they will only go home with half. Because of these high taxes, there’s never debt from a surgery and very little to no co-pay at a doctor’s office. Socialized medicine doesn’t prioritize anything, everything is equal. If someone needed a bone marrow transplant, it would be covered. If someone needed a breast reduction because of back pain, it would also be covered.
I will leave you with these questions. Do you see socialized medicine benefiting the 300 million citizens the United States has? Do you think people would still want to go through 10+ years of schooling and give up half their income each year? Do you think Americans would take advantage of universal health care if the opportunity was given to them?
- Mychaela Nelson
Public Health Abroad! 