THE DOCTORS MAYO

THE DOCTORS MAYO

Introduction

This book is a fantastic history of one of the most intriguing health care systems in the US. The brothers Mayo and their father set the foundation for what we know as the Mayo Clinic. The author does a wonderful job of describing the development of the Mayo Clinic as a health care system by first describing Dr. Mayo and then his sons and their eventual partners. It is also a fantastic history of Surgery and health care. The Mayo clinic operates to offer universal care to everyone, including those who cannot afford it. They have set principles to help in the administration. Hence it’s a non-profit organization that does not promote capitalism. Therefore, the discussion explains how and why Universal healthcare is compatible with capitalism, as evident in the book of The Doctors Mayo.

Universal healthcare refers to the system of providing health services to all people within a given region or particularly to those who cannot afford without any discrimination based on social classes and race. For most organizations, they work mainly to realize some profits, whereas some like non-profit organizations work for the benefit of everyone and helping those who are in need(Gerard 144). Hence, it requires collaboration and unity of different stakeholders to make ends meet for those disadvantaged as they cannot afford to raise the current high bulls for health care. In health facilities, many people lose their lives due to a lack of funds to cater to their services, whereby there are no well-wishers who can provide for them.

Hence, universal healthcare is not accessible in many nations that do not have non-profit organizations that deny people access to their services as it only guarantees people from high social classes.

Capitalism refers to the system of economic status whereby individuals own and control the factors of production. It is a system that allows private entities to manage the capital goods and also plan for the operations to take place, including providing capital and other requirements (Tilly 49). Capitalism is mostly evident in the United States, whereby private sectors are managed by individuals who may be working for profits. However, there are some capitalist institutions which work for offering communal services without the objective of realizing benefits. For instance, the Mayo Doctors was started as a private sector whereby the capital was contributed by the three brothers mean to offer services to the people. Hence, it is clear that universal healthcare can be achieved in a capitalist society.

Mayo Clinic was established in 1964 but came to trace its way in 1919 when Mayo’s sons contributed capital to create a foundation of the Clinic. It was during the time when many healthcare services operated with an aim of making profits hence it faced a lot of competition being a non-profit organization. The Mayo partners controlled all the factors of production in the organization which showed that it survived in capitalism (Clapesattle 401). It was not funded by the government or separate entities but majorly by the family of Mayo. It was achieved through hard work and determination. For instance, Doctor Will engaged himself in long drives when he was ill to discuss on the Clinic’s issues with Harry Harwick before the former died in 1939. This was after he organized for governance which consisted of five Mayo partners and two clinicians. This shows that the Clinic functioned to provide health services to the people without discrimination against the poor.

Universal healthcare can only be compatible with capitalism by setting the principles of the organization, which should be followed. Mayo clinic had principles that made them successful and compete with other profit-making sectors that challenged them. At first, the Mayo brothers created the Mayo Properties Association from which they rented Mayo clinic to the group of doctors. The doctors were not allowed to benefit themselves from the organization; hence the government ensured that they could not get anything beyond the agreed compensation. The residual money was taken back to the Clinic for daily operations and to cater to those who had no money to pay for their services (Trahair and Abraham 76). They had set principles such as offering the best medical services to the well and the sick, training both men and women in the pharmaceutical sector, and conduct research to advance in medicine skills like Surgery and science-related issues. These principles helped them to focus much on the, instead of profits.

In a capitalist environment, the health sector should be more attentive in decision-making for it to be compatible, which can only be achieved by selecting a qualified team of governance. The United States is surrounded by capitalism in any organization as people operate businesses to make a profit (Magnin 1143). Hence, it was difficult for the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota to survive. However, it was run by a qualified team that had constraints during decision-making processes. The governance had accountability and responsibility to ensure that the Clinic offered high standards services to every person. The Board consisted of people who were self-driven approved by multiple individuals who had experience in non-profit organizations. This is because they never worked for-profits hence they required people who had no greed as compared to other organizations who competed with them.

Health sectors can also be compatible with capitalism by eliminating incentives during decision-making and converting them to profits resulting from the decisions made. This ensures that the committee functions in the interest of achieving the goals of the organization rather than focusing on the incentives provided. The Mayo Doctors have applied this trick since 1922, which ensures fruitful decisions to help it succeed in a capitalist environment. “To prevent the Clinic at some future date from raising the salaries of its staff to eat up the gross income and reduce the rental, thus defeating the purpose of the arrangement, the contract stipulated that all Clinic salaries must be approved by the Properties Association” (Winslow 54). The Clinic has been operating on capitalism management as the partners have been managing the funds by avoiding any loss while pulling the incentives back to the organization to help the poor and those in remote areas. This has been achieved by establishing different departments in such areas to bring services near the people. This has contributed much to its growth as it is the best medical sector in the US as of now.

The compatibility can also be brought by the collective minds of people who have the same interests as the organization. The operation of a non-profit organization requires sacrifice and unselfish intentions who are willing to share their contribution with others. Capitalism leaves the owners of the organization with all the responsibilities to suffer losses and also fund the organization (Benach and Joan 163). For instance, the Mayo Doctors organization is composed of people who work for the common goals of providing the best care, training, and conducting the best research. This prevents the organization from undergoing breakdown due to lack of funds as there is no embezzlement. Commitment is the key to success in such an organization as the physicians always work hard for the benefit of the people. For instance, the two brothers revolutionized mind sharing experience to cater to sick people.

Generally, capitalism can facilitate universal health care in upcoming nations. This can be achieved as the private sectors which are willing to help those in need will contribute the capital and manage the organization willingly as compared to when different investors join together as communalism to make a profit. In non-profit making sectors, their main aim is to offer the best services, which is mostly required in the field of the health sector.

In conclusion, universal health care is compatible with capitalism. The compatibility is achieved through determination, which contributes to ethical decision making, accountability, common interest, eliminating incentives, and also setting principles and objectives of the institution. This is evident in The Mayo Doctors, whereby the non-profit organization offers universal healthcare in a capitalist environment. The capital is contributed by Mayo’s family, which operates the business with the help of clinicians aiming at providing the best services, training others, and conducting the best research.

Work cited

Benach, F.J, Joan, E.D. “Public Health and Inequities Under Capitalism: Systemic Effects and Human Rights.” Philosophical and Methodological Debates in Public Health. Springer, Cham, 2019. 163-179.

Clapesattle, Helen. “The Doctors Mayo.” (1941).

Gerard, Nathan. “Universal healthcare and universal basic income.” Journal of health organization and management (2018). 144

Magnin, Eric. “Varieties of Capitalism and Sustainable Development: Institutional Complementarity Dynamics or Radical Change in the Hierarchy of Institutions?.” Journal of economic issues 52.4 (2018): 1143.

Tilly, Chris. Work under capitalism. Routledge, 2019. 49

Trahair, Richard CS, and Abraham Zaleznik. Elton mayo: The humanist temper. Routledge, 2017. 76

Winslow, Ron. “Mayo Clinic’s unusual challenge: Overhaul a business that’s working.” The Wall Street Journal (2017), 54