Chapter 10: The Dilemma of Medical Care
Lao Can noticed that medical care also faced dilemmas. In the late years of the Qing Dynasty, medical resources were scarce, and the level of medical care was backward, making it very difficult for the common people to seek medical treatment.
In many places, hospitals had rudimentary equipment, and the skills of doctors were not professional enough. Some diseases could not receive effective treatment, and patients could only wait for death. This situation made Lao Can feel sorrowful.
Although traditional Chinese medicine had certain curative effects, it also had limitations. Many acute conditions and surgical diseases could not be effectively handled by traditional Chinese medicine. However, Western medicine had not yet been popularized, and many people could not receive Western medical treatment.
The inequality of medical care was also a problem. The wealthy could invite the best doctors and enjoy the best medical services, while the poor could only rely on rudimentary folk remedies and leave it to fate.
Lao Can believed that medical reform was necessary. Only by establishing a modern medical system and universalizing medical knowledge could the health conditions of the common people be truly improved.
He recorded these observations, hoping to provide reference for medical reform in later generations.