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The achievements of the Cuban medical system (their research as well as its practical application) are impressive - especially considering the embargo condition

The achievements of the Cuban medical system (their research as well as its practical application) are impressive - especially considering the embargo conditions. Cuba also regularly sends doctors to help with medical emergencies and to support developing countries - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_medical_internationalism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuban_medical_internationalism

perl4ever 5y ago
Would you describe yourself as a skeptic, or a cynic? Do you find Cuban government statistics more credible than US ones?
- edgyquant 5y ago
  I don’t find them more credible but if Cuba was lying about how good it’s medical system was, wouldn’t it have been reported on? Communist nations are easier able to allocate capital as they wish over the short term (why the USSR was able to become an industrial power house so quickly, but failed to diversify its economy afterwards.) so it’s likely that medical services are just the Cuban version of “heavy industry” in the USSR so while it is an achievement they still lag behind developed nations is most things so they aren’t as well rounded economically speaking. At least that’s my take, would be happy to read up on anything irt the stats being falsified if you have that.
908B64B197 5y ago
> Cuba also regularly sends doctors to help with medical emergencies and to support developing countries From what I heard, they are decades behind. Keep in mind that it's harder to become a taxi driver than a "doctor" in Cuba.
- eesmith 5y ago
  Most medical problems don't need cutting edge treatment. Compared to the US, Cuba's medical system is much more weighted towards primary care and universal health care. Med school in Cuba is 6 years of study. I can't find where it's harder to become a taxi driver. Can you clarify? The most difficult taxi license I know is the black cab license for London, which takes some people years to acquire "The Knowledge." Quoting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_the_United_Kingdom#The_Knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_the_United_Kingdom#Th... ] It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab drivers, and applicants will usually need to pass at least twelve "appearances" (periodical one-on-one oral examinations undertaken throughout the qualification process), with the whole process averaging 34 months to pass. 3 years < 6 years, and I find it hard to believe that Cuba's taxi license acquisition process is more arduous than London's black cab one.
  - pkaye 5y ago
    I don't if the Cuban taxi license acquisition process is hard but I've heard they can make much more money catering to the tourists than a working as a doctor there.
    - eesmith 5y ago
      Yes. And there's likely all sort of interesting comparisons there, like how taxi services in Cuba make their money from foreign tourists, the relative comparison of "medical deserts" in the two countries, the type of people willing to go deeply into debt for a US MD, vs. a state-funded MD in Cuba, and the types of medicine they go into (eg, primary care vs. specialist care; urban or rich vs. rural or poor patients). I tried searching Google Scholar, but the topic is vast and my time little. I thought https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12960-020-0450-9 https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10... ("Medical training for universal health coverage: a review of Cuba–South Africa collaboration") was an interesting read: > Doctors play an essential leadership role in achieving UHC, but in most countries, their training is orientated towards curative, high technology sub-specialisation in medicine and surgery. The financial and academic barriers to admission to medical school tend to favour the selection of students from privileged backgrounds, leading to young doctors who have limited direct experience of the health needs of poor rural and under-served urban communities, with few choosing to serve these communities ... > RSA’s long heritage of British medical education traditions and academic excellence, selection of the brightest students and its strong emphasis on specialisation have not helped in developing primary health care. .. > Cuba adopted an entirely different approach to medical education with the emphasis on primary health care, an interdisciplinary approach, a strong community participation, an internationalist focus, and a health workforce of sufficient size and skills to meet population needs. Much of the training is in rural polyclinics as part of a primary care team, giving students a community and primary care orientation for a large part of their training. Moreover, their values are different: solidarity with poor and disadvantaged communities, and a willingness to serve in a variety of challenging settings [17]. Importantly, Cuba has achieved impressive improvements in population health, aided by these innovations [18].
  - 908B64B197 5y ago

perl4ever 5y ago

Would you describe yourself as a skeptic, or a cynic? Do you find Cuban government statistics more credible than US ones?

edgyquant 5y ago
I don’t find them more credible but if Cuba was lying about how good it’s medical system was, wouldn’t it have been reported on? Communist nations are easier able to allocate capital as they wish over the short term (why the USSR was able to become an industrial power house so quickly, but failed to diversify its economy afterwards.) so it’s likely that medical services are just the Cuban version of “heavy industry” in the USSR so while it is an achievement they still lag behind developed nations is most things so they aren’t as well rounded economically speaking. At least that’s my take, would be happy to read up on anything irt the stats being falsified if you have that.

908B64B197 5y ago

> Cuba also regularly sends doctors to help with medical emergencies and to support developing countries From what I heard, they are decades behind. Keep in mind that it's harder to become a taxi driver than a "doctor" in Cuba.

eesmith 5y ago
Most medical problems don't need cutting edge treatment. Compared to the US, Cuba's medical system is much more weighted towards primary care and universal health care. Med school in Cuba is 6 years of study. I can't find where it's harder to become a taxi driver. Can you clarify? The most difficult taxi license I know is the black cab license for London, which takes some people years to acquire "The Knowledge." Quoting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_the_United_Kingdom#The_Knowledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxis_of_the_United_Kingdom#Th... ] It is the world's most demanding training course for taxicab drivers, and applicants will usually need to pass at least twelve "appearances" (periodical one-on-one oral examinations undertaken throughout the qualification process), with the whole process averaging 34 months to pass. 3 years < 6 years, and I find it hard to believe that Cuba's taxi license acquisition process is more arduous than London's black cab one.
- pkaye 5y ago
  I don't if the Cuban taxi license acquisition process is hard but I've heard they can make much more money catering to the tourists than a working as a doctor there.
  - eesmith 5y ago
    Yes. And there's likely all sort of interesting comparisons there, like how taxi services in Cuba make their money from foreign tourists, the relative comparison of "medical deserts" in the two countries, the type of people willing to go deeply into debt for a US MD, vs. a state-funded MD in Cuba, and the types of medicine they go into (eg, primary care vs. specialist care; urban or rich vs. rural or poor patients). I tried searching Google Scholar, but the topic is vast and my time little. I thought https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12960-020-0450-9 https://human-resources-health.biomedcentral.com/articles/10... ("Medical training for universal health coverage: a review of Cuba–South Africa collaboration") was an interesting read: > Doctors play an essential leadership role in achieving UHC, but in most countries, their training is orientated towards curative, high technology sub-specialisation in medicine and surgery. The financial and academic barriers to admission to medical school tend to favour the selection of students from privileged backgrounds, leading to young doctors who have limited direct experience of the health needs of poor rural and under-served urban communities, with few choosing to serve these communities ... > RSA’s long heritage of British medical education traditions and academic excellence, selection of the brightest students and its strong emphasis on specialisation have not helped in developing primary health care. .. > Cuba adopted an entirely different approach to medical education with the emphasis on primary health care, an interdisciplinary approach, a strong community participation, an internationalist focus, and a health workforce of sufficient size and skills to meet population needs. Much of the training is in rural polyclinics as part of a primary care team, giving students a community and primary care orientation for a large part of their training. Moreover, their values are different: solidarity with poor and disadvantaged communities, and a willingness to serve in a variety of challenging settings [17]. Importantly, Cuba has achieved impressive improvements in population health, aided by these innovations [18].
- 908B64B197 5y ago