We've all heard about the problem of over-medicating seniors but the problem has become very serious in America's nursing homes. Today they're using powerful antipsychotic drugs to chemically subdue residents. According to research from the federal government nearly 30% of the total nursing home population in this country is being given antipsychotic drugs. It's an "off-label" use but very common, even though many of the drugs carry "black box" warnings.
Did you know Medicaid spends more on antipsychotic drugs than any other type of medication? Yep, more than antibiotics, more than AIDS drugs, even more than high blood pressure medications. Drug sales last year were $11.7 billion up from $6.6 billion in 2002. Sound like a problem that's out of control to you?
As usual drugs are a fast, simple solution ... much easier than treating the source of the problem or using some type of complementary or alternative therapy.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Interview with Jacqueline Marcell
Had a fun, and very fast, interview with Jacqueline Marcell yesterday afternoon. Her show, Coping With Caregiving, focuses on the needs of the caregiver community in our country. You may have heard of her book Elder Rage or Take My Father ... Please!
Jacqueline has 4 guests on her 1-hour show so it's only a 9 or 10-minute interview but we got a lot of information in about the world of hope called complementary and alterantive medicine. I'll be posting a link to her archive shortly.
Jacqueline has 4 guests on her 1-hour show so it's only a 9 or 10-minute interview but we got a lot of information in about the world of hope called complementary and alterantive medicine. I'll be posting a link to her archive shortly.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
The Costs of Medicine
For those of us who think an insurance policy with $1 million lifetime coverage makes us safe from financial problems related to health care ... think again. That number was industry standard in the 1970's and treatment costs have soared since then. Today it's not uncommon to max out your insurance and still have huge medical bills.
According to a 2005 study 34% of adults have problems with their medical bills or have debt caused by medical expenses ... and 62% of those people had health insurance.
You've seen or heard about hospital bills that charge $20 for an aspirin, what's called bill padding. Hospitals claim it's their only defense against the aggressive cost-containment efforts of insurers and government agencies. Careful or you can get left holding the bag ... that holds your bill from the hospital.
The soaring cost of health care today is the reason it's going to be a major political issue in this election cycle ... and the reason more and more people are turning to complementary and alternative medicine.
According to a 2005 study 34% of adults have problems with their medical bills or have debt caused by medical expenses ... and 62% of those people had health insurance.
You've seen or heard about hospital bills that charge $20 for an aspirin, what's called bill padding. Hospitals claim it's their only defense against the aggressive cost-containment efforts of insurers and government agencies. Careful or you can get left holding the bag ... that holds your bill from the hospital.
The soaring cost of health care today is the reason it's going to be a major political issue in this election cycle ... and the reason more and more people are turning to complementary and alternative medicine.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
The Standards of Doctors
Interesting study done by Massachusetts General Hospital recently about the ethics of doctors. It seems 45% of those responding admitted they hadn't always reported impaired or incompetent colleagues or significant medical mistakes. And these are the same folks complaining about the safety of complementary and alternative medicine?
1/3 admitted they'd order an unnecessary and expensive MRI scan just to get rid of a complaining patient while 25% said they'd refer patients to an imaging center in which they had a direct financial interest ... and not bother informing the patient of the conflict of interest. Ethics, anyone?
1/3 admitted they'd order an unnecessary and expensive MRI scan just to get rid of a complaining patient while 25% said they'd refer patients to an imaging center in which they had a direct financial interest ... and not bother informing the patient of the conflict of interest. Ethics, anyone?
Monday, December 3, 2007
Books For Sale ... Really!
If you've tried to order UnBreak Your Health and been told it's out of stock or unavailable it's because I'm having a problem with Ingram, one of the largest book distributors in the country. For some reason they've coded my book as Out Of Stock from the very beginning and they refuse to change it ... regardless of whether it's in stock or not.
Book stores can actually order it and it'll arrive in just a few days, not the 4-6 weeks that is the standard reply for an Out Of Stock book. How I'm getting any orders for my new book at this point is a miracle.
If anyone knows anybody at Ingram please help me get this situation fixed! For the last TWO MONTHS my publisher and printer both have tried to get Ingram to correct the listing but without success.
If nothing else, Amazon always seems to get the job done.
Book stores can actually order it and it'll arrive in just a few days, not the 4-6 weeks that is the standard reply for an Out Of Stock book. How I'm getting any orders for my new book at this point is a miracle.
If anyone knows anybody at Ingram please help me get this situation fixed! For the last TWO MONTHS my publisher and printer both have tried to get Ingram to correct the listing but without success.
If nothing else, Amazon always seems to get the job done.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
More and More Drugs, Nothing But Drugs
Think Americans aren't using enough prescription drugs? Well, the FDA is going to help solve that problem! On Monday, Dec. 3rd they're going to have a public meeting to discuss a plan to allow the pharmaceutical companies to promote off-label uses of drugs.
Courts have been pushing the FDA to not inhibit the free speech rights of drug companies ... gee, can we take a guess at how many high-paid lawyers, lobbyists and consultants were needed to make that happen? What about the rights of consumers to health care that isn't totally controlled by the drug industry?
Meanwhile a group of FDA advisors warned that the agency suffers from "serious scientific deficiencies to meet current or emerging regulatory responsibilities."
And so the show goes on, and on, and on.
Meanwhile the world of complementary and alternative medicine keeps their head down to avoid showing up on the radar of the AMA and the drug companies. You don't want their high-paid gunslingers coming after you!
Courts have been pushing the FDA to not inhibit the free speech rights of drug companies ... gee, can we take a guess at how many high-paid lawyers, lobbyists and consultants were needed to make that happen? What about the rights of consumers to health care that isn't totally controlled by the drug industry?
Meanwhile a group of FDA advisors warned that the agency suffers from "serious scientific deficiencies to meet current or emerging regulatory responsibilities."
And so the show goes on, and on, and on.
Meanwhile the world of complementary and alternative medicine keeps their head down to avoid showing up on the radar of the AMA and the drug companies. You don't want their high-paid gunslingers coming after you!
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Dirty Hospitals vs. Dirty Dishes
Why are restaurants inspected for cleanliness more often than hospitals? In New York restaurants are inspected without warning at least once each year. In L.A. it's three times per year and as you know restaurants must post their ratings at the door for all to see. While the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that 2,500 people die each year from a food-borne illness from a restaurant or supermarket nearly 40x that number or 100,000 people die each year from infections contracted in health care facilities.
We used to inspect hospitals regularly but that changed in 1970 thanks to the CDC and the American Hospital Association. Today hospitals are looked at by the Joint Commission every three years, and that's not enough to guarantee they're clean. A study in California this year found 25% of hospitals surveyed as a result of complaints were unsanitary, even though they'd been accredited the previous year. When do we get to see the cleanliness rating of a hospital at the front door?
Not to make you feel any worse but doctor's offices aren't inspected at all. Think about that the next time you're sitting on that examination table with almost nothing to wear.
Is it any surprise many people feel their lives are being put at risk to protect a doctor's livelihood? Could it be the financial (and resulting political) muscle of the medical community is influencing the regulations which determine how clean our hospitals are today?
Is it too much to ask our elected officials to make our hospitals as clean as our restaurants?
We used to inspect hospitals regularly but that changed in 1970 thanks to the CDC and the American Hospital Association. Today hospitals are looked at by the Joint Commission every three years, and that's not enough to guarantee they're clean. A study in California this year found 25% of hospitals surveyed as a result of complaints were unsanitary, even though they'd been accredited the previous year. When do we get to see the cleanliness rating of a hospital at the front door?
Not to make you feel any worse but doctor's offices aren't inspected at all. Think about that the next time you're sitting on that examination table with almost nothing to wear.
Is it any surprise many people feel their lives are being put at risk to protect a doctor's livelihood? Could it be the financial (and resulting political) muscle of the medical community is influencing the regulations which determine how clean our hospitals are today?
Is it too much to ask our elected officials to make our hospitals as clean as our restaurants?
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