Movie Review: Escape Fire

875 Words2 Pages

The documentary film Escape Fire had focused on many inconsistencies in the medical health system. I’ve enjoyed this movie because it has not only highlighted the flaws of health care as being a disease-management system, but how it has become a growing business for prescription medications. The movie had also gave a vivid depiction of how most medical treatments for diseases and mental health often worsen these conditions, yet alternative methods having an increasingly positive effect. In the movie, we see survivors like U.S Army Sgt. Robert Yates hope being a prime example of what unconventional treatment can do for sufferers, which may change the system of health.
The film goes on to show how a “quick fix” is seen as the answer for many …show more content…

Erin Martin, who struggles with compensation from the system because of the small number of patients she sees in her clinic. Since she is not a specialist, she cannot get funding for services of special patients such as suicidal victims, which supports the disadvantages of health care. More money is put towards specialists instead of primary care, even though primary care physicians are quite influential to patients. The healthcare system is a wrong incentive for what healthcare should be. Martin’s decision to leave her clinic was an eye opener scene because it showed a physician with emotions and care for her patients. She had personality and expression, whereas other healthcare providers have a challenge in this with along with other communication errors.
Other challenges shown in the film are mainly focused on the biomedical approach and how it fails to acknowledge broader sociological, psychological and economical factors that impact health. For Dr. Martin’s story, the views on current determinants of health included the influences of health policies and the health system. According to the Los Angeles Times, “She left because she had to maximize the number of patients she sees and minimize the time spent with each one because of the dictates of the system,” (Kenneth Turan, 2012) which in turn affected the access to timely, quality healthcare for her …show more content…

It is a film that incites hope for change. The film brought me to the understanding that health psychology is not a field to shun the biomedical model or the health system, however it must incorporate psychological and social influences for overall health. Aboriginal Health & Medical Research Council states, ”Health is not just the physical well-being of the individual, but the social, emotional and cultural well-being of the whole community.“ Although our healthcare is really broken, doctors and providers need to sit down and talk with the patients more and give better alternatives of treatment. A new hope for change can be implemented if the health care system invites alternative medicine such as acupuncture for pain, herbal treatment, therapies etc. for not just our physical state but mental

Open Document