History of Healthcare in America

From the 1800s until now there has been a big change in a positive way in America's HealthCare System.Before technology etc. healthcare was all about people's ideas rather than proven facts. Many believed that sickness and disease was related to evil spirits. If one had a headache they would simply drill a hole in the person's skull to try and rid the evil spirits. When performing such a procedure there was no anesthesia used. 1:5000 would die within thirty days of surgery. Now it is only 1:200,000. Not until the mid 1800's when a dentist named William Morton experimented with ether. As a result of clinical trials and errors we now have over 6000 FDA approved drugs. However modern medicine is still fearful of Herbalist because of their potential profit and loss. During colonial times there was no understanding on the spread of disease and prevention. However in the mid 1800s a doctor by the name of

Ignaz Semmelweis was anxious to learn why women and children was dying after childbirth from what was known as "Childbed Fever". After studying using cadavers or imprisoned men he discovered that hand washing would minimize the spread of disease. At this time there was no requirements to practice medicine.  In my next blog I will explain how Healthcare in America  changed after it was financed and ran by the United States Government.