I agree that product delivery (of healthcare) is in a bad state, but I don't think it's wise to just "give a wash" to the product itself. Drugs and vaccines, and the overuse of surgery when high quality bodywork can do the trick (ie in particular unnecessary back surgeries with lifelong impacts on quality of life) do not necessarily constitute optimal care.
Yes, thanks Curious and Concerned You are right. In my original article I gave a nod to the problems directly and indirectly related to medical decisions and procedures by physicians.
The example was a double hip replacement in a 95 year old man who couldn't walk more than three feet, who worse yet died four weeks later form infections. Around here that amounts to 160,000 for 90 minutes work, plus the cost of dying in the hospital.
My editor removed that example because she thought it was a topic for another day. We also had an ophthalmologist who culled nursing homes for cataract surgery patients at $3000 per eye for 20 minutes work. The whole idea was to get these patient before they had a chance to die. Everybody knew. These problems are MUCH BIGGER than one doc; they are examples of multiple layers of whole systems that don't work because NOBODY questions these events as long as the money keeps coming in. And this "overlooking" goes right through and past med boards as long as there are partners (and there are) on the boards who stand to make money and sustain reputations, including their own by overlooking these surgeries and other treatments. There is nothing we have today that can even identify, let alone remedy those problems. The docs who are "caught" usually are caught for other reasons, like being independent and not having friends on the board. The systems, including med boards, then at least appear to be doing their jobs, but since there is so much secrecy nobody can tell what has happened.
This added depth to my understanding. Thanks! There is a whole murky world of "medical societies," medical boards, corporate investor-overseer boards of directors and their minions, and other sistren and brethren that few know about...and that doctors are either carried out to sea in the rip tide (fight against tremendous force to properly serve patients), or choose to swim with it so they can reap the benefits.
Partisan politics is also a threat to improving health care. Democrats defend Obamacare to the death despite its increase in premiums and its empowerment of Big Hospital and Big Insurance. Republicans want to return to a mythical "free enterprise system" that only worked when medical care was cheap enough for the middle class to pay cash for routine care.
It is obvious that Obama knew he had to bed Big Insurance and Big Money grubbing Hospital corporations. That was the quickest way to get done what he wanted to. We also know that insurance premiums for the average family went from barely affordable to completely unaffordable, twice a monthly house payment. Obamacare did no favors for the average consumer.
I agree that product delivery (of healthcare) is in a bad state, but I don't think it's wise to just "give a wash" to the product itself. Drugs and vaccines, and the overuse of surgery when high quality bodywork can do the trick (ie in particular unnecessary back surgeries with lifelong impacts on quality of life) do not necessarily constitute optimal care.
Yes, thanks Curious and Concerned You are right. In my original article I gave a nod to the problems directly and indirectly related to medical decisions and procedures by physicians.
The example was a double hip replacement in a 95 year old man who couldn't walk more than three feet, who worse yet died four weeks later form infections. Around here that amounts to 160,000 for 90 minutes work, plus the cost of dying in the hospital.
My editor removed that example because she thought it was a topic for another day. We also had an ophthalmologist who culled nursing homes for cataract surgery patients at $3000 per eye for 20 minutes work. The whole idea was to get these patient before they had a chance to die. Everybody knew. These problems are MUCH BIGGER than one doc; they are examples of multiple layers of whole systems that don't work because NOBODY questions these events as long as the money keeps coming in. And this "overlooking" goes right through and past med boards as long as there are partners (and there are) on the boards who stand to make money and sustain reputations, including their own by overlooking these surgeries and other treatments. There is nothing we have today that can even identify, let alone remedy those problems. The docs who are "caught" usually are caught for other reasons, like being independent and not having friends on the board. The systems, including med boards, then at least appear to be doing their jobs, but since there is so much secrecy nobody can tell what has happened.
This added depth to my understanding. Thanks! There is a whole murky world of "medical societies," medical boards, corporate investor-overseer boards of directors and their minions, and other sistren and brethren that few know about...and that doctors are either carried out to sea in the rip tide (fight against tremendous force to properly serve patients), or choose to swim with it so they can reap the benefits.
Partisan politics is also a threat to improving health care. Democrats defend Obamacare to the death despite its increase in premiums and its empowerment of Big Hospital and Big Insurance. Republicans want to return to a mythical "free enterprise system" that only worked when medical care was cheap enough for the middle class to pay cash for routine care.
Thanks Daniel!
It is obvious that Obama knew he had to bed Big Insurance and Big Money grubbing Hospital corporations. That was the quickest way to get done what he wanted to. We also know that insurance premiums for the average family went from barely affordable to completely unaffordable, twice a monthly house payment. Obamacare did no favors for the average consumer.