Overtreated?
I saw this at 3:30 in the morning the other day: Overtreated: More Medical care isn't always better. The headline seems alright - of course doing more of something isn't always better. But reading the thing just infuriated me.
Here are the things that bugged me that they listed as "overtreatment":
Doctors prescribe antibiotics tens of millions of times for viruses such as colds that the drugs can't help.
As major health groups warn of the limitations of prostate cancer screening, even in middle age, one-third of men over 75 get routine PSA tests despite guidelines that say most are too old to benefit. Millions of women at low risk of cervical cancer get more frequent Pap smears than recommended; millions more have been screened even after losing the cervix to a hysterectomy.
To start - do you know why doctors are always giving out antibiotics? Because that's what their idiot patients want. They want a magic pill that will make it go away. Even if it's a cold. And doctors are like anything else, they provide a service. You, as the consumer, have to decide for yourself if you want that service. I can't remember how many times I was perscribed medications I didn't pick up. I had a doctor in Lubbock that put me on medication for everything. Half the time I didn't fill the script, because I felt like it would hurt me more later on. This guy tried to put me on prozac. I am crazy, I know that. And emotional and sensitive. But I do not need prozac.
Eventually I moved away and got a new doctor. Why did I keep that one? Because he was one of few in town that took TriCare (military insurance) and was accepting new patients. I think there were two doctors in the area that took TriCare and he was the only one accepting new clients.
For the other two, if you discourage behavior that is preventative by saying it's unnecessary, what does that solve? Paps are uncomfortable and embarrassing anyway. I knew way, way, way too many women that wouldn't go to the GYN for that reason alone. Pap screens are the easiest, surest and best way to test for and treat cervical cancer.
I don't know anything about prostate exams. But if they are like Paps ... they aren't that expensive.
Now things that do cost lots of money are mentioned in the article. Repeat CT scans, MRI's, etc.
But none of this is where health care costs are highest.
But my 90 year old Grandmother calls 911 every time her heart rate escalates. Because she's afraid. The cost is billed to Medicare and her supplemental health insurance. As are all of the hospital visits every time she's admitted.
Now, there are people out there that would say she should not be given this kind of expensive care. Because she is 90, and should quietly fade away.
My issue with studies like these is that they report only half of the facts. Like regarding C-Sections. These are so prevalent now because one, they are the surest, safest way for a doctor to deliver a baby that may be having issues. Two, because more and more women are having first c-sections, so all their subsequent children are delivered that way because you can not find a doctor who will vaginally deliver a baby from a mother who's had a c-section. That's a quote from my doctor.
She also told me that in the years she's been practicing (and she may be on the low side of 40) it's changed dramatically. More and more doctors schedule c-sections for the final week of pregnancy, and more and more do elective c-sections at the request of the mother. Because somewhere in our crazy society, women have gotten the idea in their heads that recovery from a c-section is easier than a vaginal birth.
These factors don't even take into account the liability issues. OB's are the most sued of any doctor. And they are at less risk if they take the baby c-section.
And to the articles point about the baby heart rate monitor. I had one (the external one) and Grady's heart dipped and caused me undue heartache and gave the nurse a hard time. Even listening to his heart the traditional way, would have been the same, because Grady had his arm pressed against his artery in his neck and was constricting blood flow.
I was threatened with a c-section, but luckily my doctor does not like them, and we went a different route.
Anyway. My issue, again, is these studies give you half the facts. They don't tell the why. And if you don't fix the why, these facts are all stupid.
And cutting medical costs are all good and well ... but the best way to do that is to lessen end of life care. And I am not okay with that. Ever.
I don't know anything about prostate exams. But if they are like Paps ... they aren't that expensive.
Now things that do cost lots of money are mentioned in the article. Repeat CT scans, MRI's, etc.
But none of this is where health care costs are highest.
Care for the dying is often a powerful illustration of treatment going too far.That is where the costs are the highest. And reading the one isolated example in this article is not where most of the costs are either. That was just stupidity. A hospice patient getting another test? No. Hospice shouldn't allow for something like that.
But my 90 year old Grandmother calls 911 every time her heart rate escalates. Because she's afraid. The cost is billed to Medicare and her supplemental health insurance. As are all of the hospital visits every time she's admitted.
Now, there are people out there that would say she should not be given this kind of expensive care. Because she is 90, and should quietly fade away.
My issue with studies like these is that they report only half of the facts. Like regarding C-Sections. These are so prevalent now because one, they are the surest, safest way for a doctor to deliver a baby that may be having issues. Two, because more and more women are having first c-sections, so all their subsequent children are delivered that way because you can not find a doctor who will vaginally deliver a baby from a mother who's had a c-section. That's a quote from my doctor.
She also told me that in the years she's been practicing (and she may be on the low side of 40) it's changed dramatically. More and more doctors schedule c-sections for the final week of pregnancy, and more and more do elective c-sections at the request of the mother. Because somewhere in our crazy society, women have gotten the idea in their heads that recovery from a c-section is easier than a vaginal birth.
These factors don't even take into account the liability issues. OB's are the most sued of any doctor. And they are at less risk if they take the baby c-section.
And to the articles point about the baby heart rate monitor. I had one (the external one) and Grady's heart dipped and caused me undue heartache and gave the nurse a hard time. Even listening to his heart the traditional way, would have been the same, because Grady had his arm pressed against his artery in his neck and was constricting blood flow.
I was threatened with a c-section, but luckily my doctor does not like them, and we went a different route.
Anyway. My issue, again, is these studies give you half the facts. They don't tell the why. And if you don't fix the why, these facts are all stupid.
And cutting medical costs are all good and well ... but the best way to do that is to lessen end of life care. And I am not okay with that. Ever.
Comments
Are too many antibiotics given, absolutely, no one wants to be sick. No parent wants to give up vacation days for a cold to run its course. Let someone else do with out antibiotics, I need mine now. I think that is the attitude of most.
Cancer screenings are very controversial, the health care community does not seem to be able to come to agreement on frequency and when to screen. However, if you are the person who has cancer and didn't get screened and your cancer is in a later stage this is a very big deal. I know a woman who is loosing her mother 73, to cervical cancer. Her mother is not statistically in the age bracket that gets this kind of cancer. She had many symptoms but they looked at the age appropriate reasons for her problems. By the time they found her cancer she was at stage 4 and doesn't have long to live. This woman was not served well by the medical community. I would imagine as we head into the era of Obamacare this type of story will occur much more often. I don't think there are enough producers (those that work) to take care of those that don't (the parasites).