Last week's CDC report, "Health, United States, 2009" confirms that Americans are increasingly turning to medications, scans, and procedures to improve their health. Exercising, eating right, and weight loss: not so much.
Don't get me wrong. I love technology as much as the next guy. Maybe more. I'm writing this on a laptop while jetting from California to New York. My iPhone, Blackberry, and Kindle are all within ten feet of me. But my inner Luddite is starting to stir.
Here is the good news and bad news about three major findings of the CDC report:
1) The use of imaging studies like CT and MRI scans has tripled in the past ten years.
The good news
These tests can be truly lifesaving. They can diagnose conditions like appendicitis and cancer much earlier than in the past.
The bad news
They're expensive and carry risks. The annual price tag for all these scans is about 100 billion dollars and about 35 to 40 percent are estimated to be unnecessary. Experts are concerned that radiation exposure from tests like CT scans might increase the risk of cancer. And false positives often lead to further testing.
2) The percentage of Americans taking at least one prescription drug increased from 38 percent in 1988-1994 to 47 percent in 2003-2006. Those taking three or more drugs increased from 11 percent to 21 percent.
The good news
Medications clearly help control many medical problems -- for example, hypertension, high cholesterol, and diabetes.
The bad news
The more pills you take -- including vitamins, minerals, and herbs -- the greater the risk of an adverse interaction. Just three months ago, the FDA warned that commonly-used medications such as Prilosec and Nexium can make the anti-clotting drug Plavix less effective.
And medications can give patients a false sense of security. No matter how much Lipitor you take, you're not safe from heart disease if you eat a lousy diet, never exercise, and are obese.
3) Procedures such as angioplasty (opening up a blocked artery supplying the heart) and joint replacements are skyrocketing.
The good news
Used wisely, procedures are a tremendous boon. Emergency angioplasty performed during a heart attack saves lives. Knee and hip replacements can keep people active who otherwise would become immobile.
The bad news
About 30 percent of elective procedures are unnecessary according to experts like Dr. Elliott Fisher, director of population health and policy at the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice. Dr. Fisher advises, "If I were a patient, I'd ask two questions: help me understand the risks and benefits of these procedures, and by the way doctor, do you have a financial interest in ordering this test?"
To try to put the CDC report in perspective, I spoke to Dr. Linda Fried, Dean of the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. She explained that despite advances in many areas over the past decade, we are falling way short in providing adequate health care to Americans. A big reason: we lack a public health system that emphasizes prevention.
She told me, "In our fast paced society, which goes for silver bullets, quick fixes, high return on investment on quarterly reports, prevention is not part of that scenario because prevention's for all of our lives, for our whole lives. And if we're successful in prevention, we don't see anything different and that is a mindset change which we need to learn to live with." She added, "Eighty percent of health is created through prevention and public health. Three percent of our (health care) dollars go into that. We need to find a better balance."
Click here to see more of my interview with Dr. Fried.
means profit is everything. But, in health care, people do not have a choice. When we get sick, we
need immediate treatment or we may die. It is " our money or our life " !
Our EC trading partners understand this and they've taken steps to keep work hours down. A 35 hour work-week doesn't carry the risks for hypertension and diabetes that a 45 hour week carries. The employer gladly pays the freight; but a single-payer system has mandates to keep people healthy, not just working longer.
The 'advances' cited here are the same as the kind of medicine practiced in the NFL. No interest in the longterm health of the patient; the goal is to keep that QB or lineman healthy enough to finish out the season.
Moderate exercise.
Adequate Sleep.
Love your friends and family.
Do some things you really like to do.
Blow up your TV
Get a dog.
You'll live forever!
Cuba has good health care for everyone because they have the highest number of doctors per capita than anywhere in the world. Their education is free. They also don't allow personal profit at the expense of public health. They don't have the US Senate.
Cuba must have gotten first pick.
If the healthcare is really so good in cuba - why don't more people go there to get it? The truth is that the cubam leaders get their healthcare in Western Europe - while the cuban people get next to nothing at all.
Ted Kennedy would be alive today if he had gotten an MRI/MRA scan 5 years ago. Doctors probably would have found he had beginning stages of brain cancer and could have treated it successfully before it got out of hand and at a much lower cost.
This country's heath care system is a very expensive reactive one. What we need is a proactive one that will catch problems before things get out of control. This is the way we can lower costs along with doing away with the tobacco industry and encouraging the fast food industry to provide healthier alternatives to fat and sodium and excess carbohydrates.
It is my life and my body. I'm in charge of my ship. My doctor is simply a consultant.
Dr. McCoy of the Star Ship Enterprise uses his medical Tricorder to scan patients. The “V” on the new sci-fi TV remake of the 1970’s series use a scanner that can extrapolate a person’s likely health over time.
MRI/MRA scans are the safest and best proactive preventive maintenance approach available. Such scans are not harmful like CT scans.
Kaiser claims that I can’t pay for these scans because it is a non-profit organization and because of some Medicare issue. Kaiser is telling me to have them done at a for profit private scanning facility and then give Kaiser the results.
Health care reform should require hospitals to allow patients to make the choice of paying the 100 % out of pocket costs for such scans.
Some folks are spending $200,000 just for a 2.5 hour ride into space next year.
I’d rather spend money closer to home on my own health, and Kaiser won’t let me do so.
My partner is 68 and I am 57. Neither one of us takes a single prescription drug. We exercise and eat properly, don't smoke, and rarely drink.
He is a retired physician, by the way. We also rarely go see doctors! I guess we don't need to.
Finally... our diets are very high in fat (eggs, bacon, rib-eye steaks, butter, olive oil, cream, etc.) and very low in sugar, grains, and starches. We credit "getting it" about the fat fallacy for our excellent health.
We've got a generation of medical consumers who believe there's a pill to solve everything.
well put!