Critical thinking is the process of analysing available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to reach sound conclusions or informed choices. It involves recognizing underlying assumptions, providing justifications for ideas and actions, evaluating these justifications through comparisons with varying perspectives, and assessing their rationality and potential consequences. The goal of critical thinking is to form a judgment through the application of rational, sceptical, and unbiased analyses and evaluations. Critical thinking and analysis are competencies that can be learned or trained. The application of critical thinking includes self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective habits of the mind. Critical thinking is not a natural process; it must be induced, and ownership of the process must be taken for successful questioning and reasoning. Critical thinking presupposes a rigorous commitment to overcoming egocentrism and sociocentrism, which leads to a mindful command of effective communication and problem solving. (Wikipedia)
There are four main streams of primary health care that are supplied by the State: immediate care, continuing care, preventive care, and health promotion. The percentage contribution of the citizen’s critical thinking and acting to the provision of each of the four types of healthcare vary.
In preventative care the citizen is mainly a passive recipient of preventative and the percentage of critical thinking provided by the patient is small. Preventive interventions are designed and supplied by the State. The contributions provided supplied by the citizen are deciding whether or not to accept the preventative care, keeping their contact details up to date, and arranging to be available to receive preventative care.
In immediate care the citizen is more active. The citizen has to recognize that there is a problem, analyse its severity, determine whether to intervene to alter it, and to choose what to do.
In continuing care, the patient provides as much critical thinking as the State. They follow the instructions of their care provider, monitor their own progress, and use critical thinking to decide when or how to deal with complications or changes in progress of their health condition.
In health promotion, the citizen is an equal provider of critical thinking alongside marketing, advertising, and commercial forces.
Artificial intelligence is becoming the third party in the delivery of these four streams of healthcare.
HIFA profile: Richard Fitton is a retired family doctor - GP. Professional interests: Health literacy, patient partnership of trust and implementation of healthcare with professionals, family and public involvement in the prevention of modern lifestyle diseases, patients using access to professional records to overcome confidentiality barriers to care, patients as part of the policing of the use of their patient data Email address: richardpeterfitton7 AT gmail.com