The crashing of my dog in a semi-paralyzed state awakened me early one Saturday morning. After a few hours when the condition failed to improve I took her to a local animal hospital. The vet recommended a MRI. I assumed this meant a follow-up visit days or weeks later because that's how it works in a human hospital. Surprisingly she told me a MRI could be performed almost immediately.
Why are people hospitals so inferior to the speed and efficiency of pet hospitals? At both locations the government certifies practitioners and regulates the drugs. But for animal hospitals that's where the government rules generally end — for human facilities it's where they begin.
People should get superior treatment to animals not inferior. Bureaucratic regulations, meddling and tax code is the cause of the degradation. Some believe that the solution is even more oversight by politicians, but the same day MRI for my dog illustrates that care can be greatly improved if the government allows the free market to operate.
--MR
