Profit Over Patients: Breaking Down the American Healthcare System | Abdul El-Sayed

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Public health is about prevention. And in that respect, we failed—not just in preventing the pandemic, but in protecting Americans from its worst consequences: disease, death, and destitution. How could this have happened to the nation that was arguably in the best position to avert catastrophe? Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a physician, epidemiologist, and recent author of the book Healing Politics, offers a unique and medically-informed perspective on what went wrong.

First and foremost, our healthcare system is a house of cards, says El-Sayed. Without strong foundations, the stress of COVID-19 threatened to overwhelm public health almost immediately. Secondly, the persistent lag in data distorted the public’s perception of progress, and may have even contributed to a sense of “false hope.” Finally, though COVID-19 did not cause the extreme disparaties in our society, it definitely exposed them. How can we move forward now that we’ve seen all of this preventable destruction?

In this talk, El-Sayed—the host of the massively popular public health podcast America Dissected—helps us trace how we got here, and what this experience will teach us about the future. Moving forward, it’s essential that we rebuild our fragile healthcare system with a robust infrastructure; close all of the gaps in our data; and address the epidemic of insecurity in our nation. If you’re at all interested in how we can emerge from this crisis stronger than before, this talk is a must-listen.