Why is the film called ESCAPE FIRE? How is the idea of an “escape fire” a metaphor for the message in the film? What are the proposed “escape fires” for the healthcare crisis in the film?

THE PROBLEMS:

PAYING MORE, GETTING LESS

75% of the 2.7 trillion dollars we spend on healthcare in this country is spent on treating diseases that are largely preventable, such as heart disease and diabetes. Why do you think this is happening? What can be done to change this statistic?

Steven Nissen says, “When medicine became a business we lost our moral compass.” Please Explain this statement.

OVER-MEDICATION AND OVER-TREATMENT

What are some of the problems that arise for both patients and doctors when medical care is highly specialized?

Why do you think other countries do not allow advertising for prescription drugs? Why do you think we still do?

ESCAPE FIRE follows Yvonne Osborne, who has been in treatment for heart disease for over 15 years. What mistakes are noted in her care? What have these mistakes cost in terms of money, risk, and the emotional distress?

AN ENTRENCHED SYSTEM

Medical journalist Shannon Brownlee says in the film, “We have a disease-care system, and we have a very profitable disease care system... It does not want you to die and does not want you to get well. It just wants you to keep coming back.” Do you agree with this statement or disagree? Why or why not?

The film states that the current system provides the wrong incentives for doctors and hospitals, sometimes forcing them to do what is not in their patients’ best interests. How have you seen this manifest in your own experience? What can patients and physicians do to change this?

TREATING THE WHOLE PERSON

Often our healthcare debate is defined by the desire to provide more access to more people. Is holistic treatment a solution to our national healthcare problems?

According to the film, why are primary care physicians so important?

Weil states that western medicine focuses on “getting rid of the bad, not supporting the good” in our bodies. How can we, as individuals, do more to support the good? What can we do to ensure our doctors do the same for us?

PREVENTING DISEASE, ENHANCING WELLNESS

Roy Litten is a patient in the ER who has had several heart attacks and a stent placed in his heart but continues to eat eggs and bacon and to smoke. He has stopped taking his medicine because it is too expensive, and he does not have his own doctor; when he started having chest pains he had to resort to going to the ER. What could be done by each of the stakeholders in the healthcare system to help a person like Roy start on the road towards good health? What are the challenges and obstacles in the way?

Why is Dr. Ornish’s study about the relationship between lifestyle choices, heart disease, and prostate cancer so important? Is this replicable for the general population?

What do you think of workplace financial health incentive programs like Safeway’s? Should private and public insurance implement similar “behavior as currency” strategies?

THE MILITARY

What has the military learned about the use of narcotics and other pharmaceuticals for managing chronic pain and PTSD? What have they learned about the use of integrative medicine in the treatment of chronic pain and PTSD? What can the civilian population learn from what the military is doing? How can this knowledge be applied in civilian healthcare?