Somewhere, buried deep inside the patents; clinical trials, genetics; HMOs; malpractice lawsuits and the dismal health of millions of uninsured men, women and children, lies the compassionate and humane act of providing health care.

At what point does the health of people come before profits?

Now granted, we live in a society that is based on free enterprise. But where do we draw the lines? Have we truly evolved (or regressed, depending on your point of view) to a place in time where the words in the Preamble to the Constitution, “… to promote the general welfare…”are absolutely meaningless?

Hospitals, clinics and medical centers are for the most part no longer places for health and healing. Instead, they have become profit and loss centers. What a sad commentary.

On close examination (no pun intended), we find that doctors and health-care providers who start out in their practice of medicine are so steeped in medical school debt and the constraints of managed health care that they are almost forced to adopt a “business” attitude about the delivery of their service to their patients. We have all either seen examples of this or know firsthand of someone close to us who has:

A doctor who won’t accept certain insurance plans for fear of not being reimbursed by the insurance company for providing certain treatments or procedures;

The hospital emergency room that insists that you contact your primary-care physician instead of admitting and treating you;

Been discharged from the hospital after a surgery, when you know you aren’t quite strong enough to recover without hospital supervision;

A friend or family member who is diagnosed with a terminal illness when rushed to the emergency room, after living with a progressively worsening condition for years due to a lack of access to preventive medical care and education.

As you can imagine, I could go on and on with these types of scenarios. But I think you get the point.

Where are we going with this escalation? Already doctors are being “drafted” and “traded” by health systems and hospitals, much as professional athletes who become “franchise” players. We pick and choose from whom and where we seek medical treatment based on who’s there, instead of what they do there. Will we reach the point where there will be a different way to diagnose and treat the diseases and conditions that affect those who can afford prescription drugs and those who can’t? And how about the seemingly “exclusionary” methods used to decide who gets access to organs for transplants when they become available?

Moving on to another area of concern, let’s look at the marketing and advertising of health services. Now tell me, who among you (over 40 years old) would have ever thought you would live to see the day that, while watching your favorite television program, you would see a slick television commercial advertising a hospital? I mean they get these sexy, attractive actors, use high-speed film, great lighting and produce a commercial that rivals anything that comes out of Hollywood. Some folks who see them are so impressed; they are actually looking forward to an opportunity to have to be hospitalized. (“That’s where I want to go if anything happens to me!”)

Somewhere, lost in the sauce, is the practice of medicine, the delivery of quality health care; and easing the suffering of the sick and afflicted.

You know, when the Hippocratic Oath was adopted as the credo for the medical profession, its’ mandate was, “First, do no harm”. Now, it seems the “harm” is inherent in the system. Before you arrive at the doctor’s office or the hospital emergency room, there is a system through which, you almost have to be healthy enough just to make it out.

Where did we go wrong? When did we lose our way? How could we forget the humanin humanity? This used to be the greatest country on Earth, didn’t it?

The bad news is that it’s not going to get any better anytime soon. The good news is that, as with most things in life, it’s never too late.

We (all of us!) must hold the medical “industry” to a different standard somehow. No, I’m not suggesting socialized medicine, necessarily (I’ll save that argument for another day).

We’ve got change this. Somehow, through subsidies, legislation or other mechanisms, see to it that every man, woman and child on this planet has access to the necessary health and medical resources to insure that we can truly “hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights. Among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness…”

Maybe I seem cynical to some. I like to consider myself compassionate and vigilant.

“Give me your tired, your poor,

Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,

The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Remember, I’m not a doctor. I just sound like one.

Take good care of yourself and live the best life possible!

Glenn Ellis, author of “Which Doctor?”, is a syndicated health columnist and radio commentator who lectures around the country on health issues relevant to the African-American community.

E-mail me at glenn@glennellis.com, and for good health information, visit: www.glennellis.com.