Summary Of Rx: The Quiet Revolution

During Primary Care Week, an event was hosted by the Center for Medical Humanities & Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio on October 8, 2015. The screening of Rx: The Quiet Revolution, a PBS documentary, was presented to demonstrate a range of innovative practice models around the country. The documentary was made by filmmaker David Grubin as a tribute for his father who was a practicing physician in the 50s. It analyzes a new breed of healthcare professionals that embody the values and traditions of those before them. The documentary is split into four different vignettes that explore various cultures and their medical practices. Rx: The Quiet Revolution opens with a general practitioner, Dr. David Loxterkamp, who visits a family practice in rural Maine. He visits a variety of patients, most of them obese or diabetic who live unhealthy lifestyles. One of the key aspects displayed in this vignette of the documentary is Dr. Loxterkamp’s compassion for his patients as they are the driving force in their own health, and he is driving force. There was an excellent analogy: An individual or physician may guide a bird or patient towards its target. But ultimately it is the bird’s choice on whether it will make it to the target with the mere guidance of the individual much like Dr. Loxterkamp. These diabetic patients in Maine can only go so far by the physician’s force; the main motivation for a healthy life is within them. The documentary then takes a turn as it explores the lives of a community health clinic in Mississippi. …show more content…
Many of the patients at this clinic have diabetes mellitus and must take care of themselves through diet and exercise in order to keep their blood sugars stable. One of the patients, Annie Ford, discusses her daily routine as an individual with diabetes and introduces a new system of managing her disease through an electronic tablet and her willingness to take action. This system has made it easier for patients to take care of their illness as a team of physicians can manage many patients through teleconferencing and coordinate a chronic treatment for them in a controlled manner. The next location of the revolution of medicine is in Chinatown within San Francisco where many patients of Chinese culture have assimilated their own traditions into their holistic care. This is displayed through the On Lok Program which is a long-term care facility that has many benefits such as eligibility for both Medicare and Medicaid and a more welcoming environment than nursing homes. It has been proven that more people from nursing homes are taken into the emergency room than from On Lok and more are admitted into hospitals. The On Lok program is displayed through many aspects including holistic care ranging from medicine and …show more content…
In this vignette, many stories are discussed regarding the topics of domestic violence, child neglect, and sexual abuse. Individuals explain how in their childhood, they were not allowed to speak their native language without consequences. Apart from these heartbreaking stories, culture is a major aspect that is analyzed as women learned to free themselves through dance and singing which are prevalent in the theme of holistic medicine. It also focuses on how people live their own lives and can only listen to a doctor’s orders but must execute these actions