If You Want to Help Me, Prescribe Me Money: Gary Bloch at TEDxStouffville

Summary

In this powerful talk, a family doctor shares the stories of marginalized patients, like Sarah, a homeless transgender woman, and others struggling with poverty. He reflects on the deep connection between poverty and health, and his realization that medical treatments alone cannot address the root issues affecting his patients. He advocates for treating poverty as a disease and outlines practical steps doctors can take: asking about finances, prescribing social support, building poverty-focused care teams, and demanding systemic change. The talk ends with a call to action for both the medical profession and the community to address poverty as a critical health issue.

Takeaways

• 🏠 The speaker's children view a homeless transgender woman named Sarah as a neighbor and community member.
• 👨‍⚕️ The speaker is a family doctor who feels powerless to help homeless and impoverished patients like Sarah.
• 🌆 The doctor works in inner-city Toronto and has witnessed the detrimental health effects of poverty on patients.
• 🏥 Despite standard medical interventions, patients like Sarah do not improve, leading the doctor to question the approach.
• 👩‍💼 The doctor meets Wanda, a woman living in poverty with multiple sclerosis and heart disease, who faces numerous challenges.
• 👩‍👧‍👦 Another patient, Teresa, is a single mother struggling with childcare and unable to find stable employment.
• 💊 The doctor realizes that traditional medical treatments are insufficient and that addressing poverty is crucial.
• 📈 Research shows that poverty is more harmful to health than smoking, high cholesterol, and other common risk factors.
• 🤑 The doctor begins to 'prescribe income' by filling out special diet forms to provide extra money for low-income patients.
• 📋 The Ontario government's changes to the program that provided extra income halted the doctor's efforts.
• 🔍 The doctor explores ways to address poverty within a medical practice, including asking about income and prescribing social cures.

Q & A

What is the main issue the speaker addresses in their talk?

The speaker addresses the issue of poverty and its direct impact on the health of their patients, emphasizing the need for doctors to treat poverty as a disease.

Why do the speaker's children observe Sarah, the homeless transgender woman?

The children observe Sarah because they recognize that she is unwell and notice her unusual behaviors, such as speaking to unseen entities and enduring various weather conditions.

What questions do the speaker's children ask about Sarah that they cannot be easily answered?

The children ask questions like why Sarah has a woman's name and a man's body, why she speaks to people they cannot see, and where she eats. These questions are difficult to answer due to their complexity and the sensitive nature of the issues involved.

What is the speaker's profession and where does he practice?

The speaker is a family doctor who practices in inner-city Toronto.

Who are Wanda and Teresa, as mentioned in the script?

Wanda is a 52-year-old woman with multiple sclerosis and heart disease who lives alone in a housing project. Teresa is a young single mother struggling with childcare and welfare, trying to find employment.

What is the connection between poverty and health according to the speaker?

The speaker states that poverty is intimately connected to health, with low-income patients facing increased risks of various diseases and higher rates of depression, among other health issues.

How does the speaker describe the impact of poverty on the body?

The speaker describes the impact of poverty on the body as causing a 177% increased risk of heart disease, over 100% increased risk of diabetes, and higher rates of depression and various types of cancer.

What is the 'special diet forms' initiative mentioned in the script?

The 'special diet forms' initiative is a program where doctors fill out forms to provide people on social assistance with up to $250 extra per month for dietary needs.

What is the average amount left for food per month for someone on basic welfare in Ontario, according to the script?

The average amount left for food per month for someone on basic welfare in Ontario is less than a dollar per day.

What are the four interventions the speaker suggests doctors can use to treat poverty?

The four interventions are: 1) Ask and listen to patients' financial situations and stories; 2) Prescribe social cures like income, housing, and social supports; 3) Build a poverty team within the medical practice; and 4) Demand change from government programs and advocate for social change.

How does the speaker feel about the potential of these interventions to eliminate poverty?

The speaker does not believe that these interventions will systemically eliminate poverty, but they do provide a way for doctors to address their patients' needs and see improvements in their health.