America's Health Ranking

Is it really any surprise when the 2012 rankings for world health came out and America is at the bottom or near the bottom?  How can this country continue to delude itself that it has the "best health care in the world" when all of the facts, all of the reports, clearly show otherwise?

The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council issued a 378-page study by a panel of experts that's the first to systematically compare death rates and health measures for people of all ages.  Bottom line:  American men ranked last in life expectancy among the 17 countries in the study, and American women ranked second to last.

Yet America spends two or three times what other industrialized countries spend on health care!

WAKE UP AMERICA!

More Medicine Isn't A Good Thing

There was a report back in 1999 by the Institute of Medicine that said an estimated 98,000 people were dying every year due to medical mistakes.  Today estimates are that it's up to around 200,000 people every year which makes medical mistakes one of our leading causes of death.  This from a profession that claims its highest oath to be Do No Harm.

Why the growth is medical mistakes?  Probably because of the dramatic increase in the amount of medicine being practiced every year.  Since 1996 the number of MRIs has quadrupled and the number of doctor visits resulting in at least FIVE drugs being prescribed has tripled.  Defensive medicine carries risks with every test or procedure ordered, a fact most doctors forget.

There are lots of hospitals and doctors doing some great things to reduce these risks but the fact of the matter is more people are still dying and America's cost of health care continues to grow.  Something has to change.

A. T. Still Memorial

Last Thursday there was a service to recognize the founder of the world's first osteopathic school of medicine in Kirksville, Missouri.  Most folks don't recognize the name of Andrew Taylor Still but many more appreciate what he gave the world.  This year's ceremony was held at the entrance to the Tinning Education Center instead of graveside due to weather.

Osteopathy is much more than simple chiropractic adjustments to the back, it's a medical system that focuses on the proper functioning of the entire human body.  And I can say from personal experience that it does work, and very well.

This year's ceremony was the 93rd anniversary of the event.

Thanks Dr. Still.

Award Winning Book

The winner of this year's UnBreak Your Health Award at Reader Views is Midlife Crash Course from Gail Feldman, PhD.  The book is a hero's journey to a better, more powerful place as a result of several "crashes" in her life.  From the loss of her 35-year marriage to a skiing accident to an automobile accident the growth she accomplishes gives the rest of us hope.

Check out the newest podcast and listen to Gail Feldman describe her journey of discovery.

Adrenaline Nation

Once in awhile you run across a book that seems to resonate with the times.  Adrenaline Nation by Peter M. McCarthy is one of those kind of books.  It seems to reflect all of our too many hours at work and too little sleep world today. 

Peter was a 20-year military pilot, commander and trainer and then followed up with a career as a pilot at Southwest Airlines.  Today he's a nationally board-certified naturopath and CEO of Life Energy Holistic Partners.  He's also Chairman of the Texas Health Freedom Coalition. 

In all of his work he's seen a consistent rise in the number of adrenaline burn-out cases and wanted to discover the "what" and "why" behind this phenomenon.  His research was interesting and compelling and he issues a call for everyone to take better care of themselves.

You can listen to our podcast at www.unbreakyourhealth.com at any time.

Drug Business As Usual

How could I pass up the opportunity to talk about the drug industry's latest example of greed?  It seems like I regular post about the latest "biggest settlement in history" resulting from the drug industry's flagrant disregard for public safety.  Profits Before People must be on the wall at every drug company in the world it would seem.

The latest example is GlaxoSmithKline's $3 BILLION settlement for illegally marketing drugs and withholding safety data from U.S. regulators (FDA).  Yes, it's a fair price to pay ... if you're an average person.  But how many days of sales and profits does it represent for GSK?  How many billions did they make over the years they were killing people with their illegal actions? 

I have to admit I enjoyed watching one of the news shows yesterday when a doctor at one of the nation's leading medical facilities admitting that by their actions GSK undoubtedly killed people in the name of profit.  Doctors were bribed with vacations, concerts and gifts and even though they claim to be immune from such influence ... they prescribed GSK's drugs ... and people died.

There seems to be a fundamental fault, a "fatal flaw" if you will, when you base a health care system on profit.  Maybe there's a reason that every other industrialized nation on earth has a government-run health care system.

Drug Poisonings Kill More Than Auto Accidents

It may be old news but I think it's worth noting again that deaths from prescription drugs kill almost as many people as car wrecks, heading to become the leading cause of death in the United States very shortly.  In fact since the latest data from the U. S. National Vital Statistics System are from 2008, it may have already happened.

While the rate of deaths from car accidents has been steadily dropping for the past few decades the rate for poisonings has steadily increased, the rate of drug deaths has many fold.  In the old days it used to be cocaine and heroin but today it's hydrocodone and methadone.  It's not illegal street drugs that are the problem, it's prescription drugs today.

I guess we can file this under "unintended consequences" from America's health care system.