Patient Belief System

Introduction: In order for a health care system to be viable, there must be set guidelines to help establish a caregiving system between patients and doctors. There are a variety of factors considered when instituting such system. The factors considered must meet the needs of patients from different economic, geographical, and social backgrounds. These components determine the relationship that each individual or group will have with the health care system. Each group will demand a different set of needs and so the health care system must find a balance between the patients’ constraints and the willingness to provide the necessary help for each patient. The content of this document will examine the structure of teaching within a physician …show more content…
Pelto and Pelto suggest that there is little understanding between health care policy makers and its patients, for example, “…health-system policy makers and practitioners appear to pay little heed to the importance of understanding the cultural and knowledge systems of the people they are meant to serve” ( 1997, p.148). The idea of this misunderstanding develops from the notion of different perspectives that policy makers and physicians have towards knowledge and beliefs (Pelto & Pelto, 1997, p.148). Practitioners and policy makers have a definitive distinction between their scientifically based knowledge and their patients’ belief systems. The difference seen between a scientific knowledge structure and a patient belief system is the substantial amount of scientific evidence that a scientific structure holds. Physicians are able use this evidence as a form to discredit patient belief. Cultures all around the world use religion as an explanation for illness, thus patient beliefs on health may not be supported in a medical environment. Furthermore, this idea may lead patients to assimilate to modern medicine while having a choice to retain their beliefs on …show more content…
classify two types of patients, the first is the ‘less worthy’ patient and second is the ‘more worthy’ patient. Within the ‘less worthy’ category, patients are found to have a lesser chance of physically improving in wellness. These includes patients who do not follow through with the proper follow up treatments, patients who are disrespectful to medical staff, patients who frequently check-in and check-out of hospitals such as drug addicts and elderly (Higashi et al., p. 17-19). Higashi et al. determine that patients who fall under the ‘more worthy’ category are patients that are wealthy, have a colleague within the medical field, patients who are socially engaging, and patients who are determined to get better no matter the cost. (2012, p.20). Higashi et al. discuss the physician outlook on the ‘moral economy perspective’, stating that although physicians may have a dilemma with this type of system, the moral economy may be the only way that efficient health care may be provided (2012, p.