Democratic
presidential nominee former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listen during the town hall
debate at Washington University on October 9, 2016 in St Louis,
Missouri. (Photo by Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)
Here’s what I learned about the two candidates during the second Presidential debate. Republican candidate Donald Trump keeps sniffling, and frequent interruptions have become the norm. And both candidates indicated that some change in the Affordable Care Act is needed. Beyond that did we get any more insight in how the candidates will address the many key health and healthcare issues swirling around our country? Sadly (sniff, sniff), no.
The debates have become like a reality show or, as CBS commentators noted, the WWE (i..e, professional wrestling). Sure, it may make for good entertainment theater and garner higher ratings. But did you learn anything about how the candidates will address the obesity epidemic, decreasing investment in biomedical research, drug prices and other pharmaceutical issues, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, problems with our healthcare system and many other health issues that can lead to productivity losses, suffering and death and basically erode America’s ability to compete in the global economy?
Yes, Trump is a reality television show star, which along with his rhetoric may have helped both debates feel more like The Apprentice than The President. However, some of the blame must rest with those who chose the questions to ask the candidates. “How will candidate behavior during the campaign set examples for our children?” “Can you say something nice about the other candidate?” (I don’t recall the exact phrasing of the questions from the audience, but these capture the spirit of the questions.) Come on. Did we really expect any new insights from the candidates’ answers to these questions? Even if Trump or Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton had answered with something surprising about the other (such as “Donald has really kind eyes” or “Hillary is an amazing juggler”), what difference would that have made? To those questions, you may want to ask:
Let’s look at what other countries do when they want to get ahead. Singapore, for example, has invested heavily in biomedical research. Take a look at this RAND report that shows how this tiny country is making making strides. As this McKinsey and Company report states: “China’s healthcare sector continues to develop at an astonishing rate: Apending is projected to grow from $357 billion in 2011 to $1 trillion in 2020.” Ray Dorsey, MD, MBA, neurology faculty at the University of Rochester, led a study published in JAMA that showed how funding of biomedical research in the U.S. slowed and even decreased from 2003 to 2008. If Trump wants to make “America great again” and compete with China, how about investing more time, effort and resources into dealing with problems in our health and biomedical sectors? How about asking the candidates whether they plan to increase such investment or how are they going to address the other problems facing the health and biomedical sectors and the health of America? No, calling beauty pageant winners fat and disgusting won’t help control the obesity epidemic.
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People can complain about the election and the campaign all they want, but failing to ask the real, tough and important questions only contributes to what is happening. My fellow FORBES contributor, Robert Glatter, MD, asked earlier if this election is making you sick. Well, perhaps this election is just a symptom of deeper problems in our society: misplaced priorities and a lack of understanding of what is really important. Remember, if you don’t have good health, it is much harder to do anything. That’s the real reality. This applies to both individual people and a country. By the time people and the country find out, it may be too late. Part of being a good doctor is asking the right questions to get the right diagnosis and the right treatment and solutions. So, let’s begin by asking the candidates the right questions.
source - http://www.forbes.com
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