This film best addresses audiences who do not understand the healthcare crisis in the US. It provides a first hand view on the crisis and exemplifies how it needs to be fixed.
The viewpoints of the police, EMS and the corners as well as family members of patients who have died are not included in this film.
Following up with patients months or weeks later would enhance its educational value by reaffirming that the process will happen over and over again ( of waiting to get into the ER only to be told it would take months for treatment).
The film suggests to change the healthcare system in America. Perhaps by providing universal healthcare to those who are in need, or allowing public hospitals to provide patients without insurance some form of care. Everyone has the right to be seen and treated.
Three points I followed up to learn more was:
healthcare currently in the united states, for example obama care and how it helps people without insurance. I learned that through this system it was easier and more efficient for some people to get care and insurance even if they had prior health conditions. However I also learned it is not a perfect solution.
I looked up the percentages of americans who do not have health insurance. From researching this I learned that the number was a lot higher than I had expected and I questioned why the number was not lower due to obama care.
http://kff.org/uninsured/fact-sheet/key-facts-about-the-uninsured-popul…
The last point I looked up was national admission rates to ERs. I was curious on the national average about how many people seek help. I wondered how many people do not seek help becasue they do not have insurance. I also became curious about how many of these people came to get treatement and were denied.
The Waiting Room, a documentary film addressing the conversation about health care reform and equal access to care, goes through the lives of those in the emergency room of a hospital. It addresses the problem that some families have no other choice, but to visit the ER, since they do not have a PCP (Primary Care Provider) or insurance. Additional unforeseen cases, such as trauma, arrests, and individuals that have very urgent needs only naturally make the wait longer.
The Waiting Room, being a documentary, uses a plethora of personal annecdotes in order to support the argument emotionally. The arguement is supported from more than one direction which, in my opinion, makes this such an empowering film. The film combats the problem from both the patient and clinical side showing frustrations on both sides.
The Waiting Room takes place in Highland Hospital in Oakland, CA. The film most directly is discussing the stake holders as the patient that have to wait, while also focuses on the over burdened system and providers. The film touches on the fact that it's not only present in this one case, it's a wide spread problem, and thus is the contential health and safety that is most at stake with this problem.
EMS personel are not direcly outlined in this documentary as it is focused on hospital care not pre-hospital care.
I thought most aspects of the film served a purpose, the attidtudes of some of the physicians, though realistic, was somewhat off putting.