There is an old tale about a college philosophy exam that had one question on it: “Why?” Students scribbled furiously, filling blue book after blue book with dates, names and theories that related to the concept of “why.” They all failed the exam. One student, however, completed the test in two minutes and got an “A.” The answer: “Why Not?”
While there are those that might argue the “who,” “what,” “where,” and “when” of life are the most critical because they give the facts, I would argue that “why” is the word that fuels life with fascination, understanding, and power.
“Who,” “what,” “when” and “where” are merely interesting. Does the exact date when Columbus discovered America or of some battle in some war really matter? Even a big date like December 7 or June 6? The date is merely interesting, albeit important for remembering and honoring the moment. But the “why” is what changed the world.
Why did Columbus decide to “sail off the edge of the world” before he landed in America? Why did the Japanese decide to attack Pearl Harbor and bring us into World War II? Why did the Allies choose to storm the beaches of Normandy in the way they did? Before you attack me, realize I am in no way minimizing the significance of those events, nor the horrible loss of life in those events and so many other heinous moments in history.
But, asking “why” gets to the dirty underbelly of the act. “Why” enlightens us to the fascinating motivation for any act or achievement - why did you hit your sister? Why did you choose that career? Why did you fall in love with him/her? Why did you decide to get a divorce? “Why” is the word that catalyzes change. It makes life interesting and allows discussion to ensue.
“Why” can also save your life.
I was with a friend recently who told me his father had died the week before. The cause? He bled to death because the “new-and-improved” blood thinner he was taking had no antidote should bleeding occur. Apparently his father had a digestive issue that sent him to the hospital several days earlier. The doctors had told my friend his dad would be fine. Suddenly, his bleeding was out of control, his abdomen filled with blood, and my friend and his siblings did not get to say goodbye to their father.
A zillion “why’s” raced through my mind when I heard this tragic story...
Why was he bleeding in the first place? Why didn’t the hospital give a more realistic assessment to my friend, who could have easily driven the 150 miles if he knew the situation was dire?
Why is there no antidote for the drug?
And, one of the most important ones to me: Why did his doctor prescribe that drug when safer ones exist?
If my friend’s father had asked why months or years earlier, might he have made a different choice and be alive today?
Not only that, if everyone asked “why” before they jumped into health decisions, our healthcare costs might be a whole lot lower and our lives might be a whole lot simpler.
Doctors acknowledge there is an epidemic of over-testing throughout the industry, especially MRI and CT scans for lower back pain, EKGs in spite of no cardiac symptoms, and annual pap smears for most women.
For example, a study reported in JAMA Internal Medicine found that “more than half the requests for MRI of the lumbar spine were ordered for indications considered inappropriate or of uncertain value.” (http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/781381) Translation: More than 50 percent of people who received an MRI for lower back pain just wasted $1,000 or more.
Here’s something else to consider. The next time your doctor hands you a prescription he/she may be prescribing a drug to you not because it’s the best, safest or cheapest drug, but because he received a free meal from the manufacturer - and I don’t mean a fancy meal. In some cases it was simply a slice of pizza. Researchers recently analyzed prescribing habits of 279,000 doctors who participated in Medicare Part D, comparing prescriptions for major drugs (for cholesterol lowering, blood pressure lowering and depression) written by those who had received meals from pharmaceutical companies versus those who had not.
The Results: In all cases, the “fed doctors” prescribed more of the company’s drug than those who were not fed, and in three out of the four cases, it was approximately 50 percent more. Remember, for all drugs there were less expensive, equally effective drugs available to use, yet the doctors prescribed the one from “their friends.” (Study reported JAMA Internal Medicine http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2528290)
What’s dangerous here is that with so many drugs on the market, most doctors don’t have time or resources to stay current, so they rely on the information given to them by the sales teams. The doctors may be prescribing because they feel obliged to “pay back” the pizza ... or they may be prescribing because they like the sales person ... or they may be prescribing because they are believing the only sales pitches that they received and are not doing all their homework in managing patient care.
What does all this add up to? Danger. There were approximately 500,000 hospital deaths last year caused by medical errors (http://www.hospitalsafetyscore.org/newsroom/display/hospitalerrors-thirdleading-causeofdeathinus-improvementstooslow), and another 700,000 people went to the emergency room because of an “adverse drug event,” about half of which are the result of a medical error. [https://psnet.ahrq.gov/primers/primer/23/medication-errors]
Now here’s the thing. How many of those errors and near misses and how much wasted time and money could have been prevented by simply asking “why”?
Why do you recommend that drug?
Why do I need that test?
Why are you recommending that treatment and not something less invasive?
Why must I take a drug to fix the problem? Aren’t there non-drug options?
The list goes on and on.
One simple word. One simple question could change the course of your life.
Why not try it?
Sarah Hiner is President & CEO of Bottom Line Inc., which publishes books and consumer newsletters Bottom Line Health and Bottom Line Personal. http://bottomlineinc.com/
For more than four decades, Bottom Line Inc. (formerly Boardroom Inc.) has provided expert-sourced consumer, health and financial advice to millions of readers worldwide.