It appears that the winds of change are blowing through the halls of medical schools across the country. In a recent survey of medical school students at 126 schools they found a growing interest and acceptance of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).
The results showed 77% thought that patients would benefit more if their doctors knew about CAM along with Western medicine. In a show of support for Integrative Medicine 74% of the doctors-to-be thought that a blend of Western medicine and CAM is better than either by itself.
Looks like the CAM genie is out of the bottle and the AMA isn't going to be able to put it back any time soon. That's great news for all of us as patients and medical consumers and also for doctors who want to do a better job.
Showing posts with label medicine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label medicine. Show all posts
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Modern Medicine Changes Its Mind ... Again
You've heard the same old story over and over again. One day Modern Medicine says you should eat X or Y and the next day the medical advice is the exact opposite. This time the medical merry-go-round concerns your appendix. About 1 in 20 people have their appendix removed and doctors have said for decades that it was a useless organ, a leftover from our earliest ancestors.
"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks" according to researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center. Along with his colleges they recently suggested that the appendix serves as a warehouse for good bacteria, waiting to repopulate our digestive tract after diarrhea and other illnesses. Sounds like a pretty useful purpose to me.
The research was published in this month's issue of Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
"Maybe it's time to correct the textbooks" according to researcher William Parker, an immunologist at Duke University Medical Center. Along with his colleges they recently suggested that the appendix serves as a warehouse for good bacteria, waiting to repopulate our digestive tract after diarrhea and other illnesses. Sounds like a pretty useful purpose to me.
The research was published in this month's issue of Journal of Evolutionary Biology.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Doctors Don't Have All The Answers
Story in the U.K. shows once again that doctors don't have all of the answers and that patients have to take responsibility for their own health. In this case, it was parents taking responsibility for the health of their child.
Reuben Grainger-Mead was diagnosed with a congenital blood disorder that stunted his growth, weakened him and made his heart race three or four times faster than normal when he was just 2 years old. He had to visit a hospital for monthly blood transfusions but his condition continued. His parents refused to give up and eventually found a nutritionist who correctly diagnosed the need for a change in diet due to the unique way his system worked. A change in diet and some dietary supplements and at 8 years old he's living a nearly normal life.
His mother put it clearly "It just shows that parents should never give up," she said. "I'm not criticizing the medical profession at all -- they did all they could. But this shows that there's always another avenue."
And doctors wonder why we fight so hard to have access to complementary and alternative medicine?
Reuben Grainger-Mead was diagnosed with a congenital blood disorder that stunted his growth, weakened him and made his heart race three or four times faster than normal when he was just 2 years old. He had to visit a hospital for monthly blood transfusions but his condition continued. His parents refused to give up and eventually found a nutritionist who correctly diagnosed the need for a change in diet due to the unique way his system worked. A change in diet and some dietary supplements and at 8 years old he's living a nearly normal life.
His mother put it clearly "It just shows that parents should never give up," she said. "I'm not criticizing the medical profession at all -- they did all they could. But this shows that there's always another avenue."
And doctors wonder why we fight so hard to have access to complementary and alternative medicine?
Saturday, March 28, 2009
A Little Progress
The report from the Health Reform Dialogue, a collection of groups usually at odds over health care, is a small step in the right direction. Consumers, insurers, doctors, employers and others reached a broad agreement the may act as a starting point for the reform process.
One critical point that I'd like to highlight was their recommendation that the priority of America's health care system be changed. In fact, they want it totally reversed. Over the last few decades the health care system has figured out it's much more profitable to treat sick people than to keep them healthy and prevent illness and disease. Great for them, bad for us. It's one of the major reasons that America spends more on health care than any other nation on earth, more than twice as much as many other industrialized countries. The report now calls for prevention to become the foundation for medical care.
It's a small step, but at least it's a start.
One critical point that I'd like to highlight was their recommendation that the priority of America's health care system be changed. In fact, they want it totally reversed. Over the last few decades the health care system has figured out it's much more profitable to treat sick people than to keep them healthy and prevent illness and disease. Great for them, bad for us. It's one of the major reasons that America spends more on health care than any other nation on earth, more than twice as much as many other industrialized countries. The report now calls for prevention to become the foundation for medical care.
It's a small step, but at least it's a start.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Big Medicine's Insider Game
Can you imagine being called a "nobody and a nothing" by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)? Can you imagine just a week later being called "somebody doing something very important" by the same publication? The flap shines a spotlight on the games being played by Big Medicine today which hurt every American.
You see the problem is Leo, a professor of neuro-anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University, had the audacity to send a letter to the medical journal BMJ in which he pointed out an unreported conflict of interest in a JAMA study. As usual, a little sunshine scares the established medical interests so they reflex by calling him names.
The tide is slowly turning in America towards fairness and transparency though and less than a week later JAMA had to reverse course. They claim they're correcting their policy on conflicts of interest, but they've said that many times before. It's sad that Leo would have to send a letter out of the country in order to get it published, but that's a reflection of medicine in America today.
You see the problem is Leo, a professor of neuro-anatomy at Lincoln Memorial University, had the audacity to send a letter to the medical journal BMJ in which he pointed out an unreported conflict of interest in a JAMA study. As usual, a little sunshine scares the established medical interests so they reflex by calling him names.
The tide is slowly turning in America towards fairness and transparency though and less than a week later JAMA had to reverse course. They claim they're correcting their policy on conflicts of interest, but they've said that many times before. It's sad that Leo would have to send a letter out of the country in order to get it published, but that's a reflection of medicine in America today.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Cold Medicine
I continue to be surprised (even though I shouldn't be) at how cold and indifferent mainstream medicine can be. You would think that at some point when someone is brought into the emergency room by ambulance with a head injury they would ask the patient how they feel. No, the questions were all strictly medical. For 3 hours no one, not doctor, nurse, PA, no one asked the patient how they felt or if there was anything they could do to make them more comfortable.
The patient had to ask for nausea medication before being discharged because sitting up from examination table to wheelchair was going to be extremely difficult. For the entire ordeal the hospital never offered so much as an ice pack or an aspirin.
Medical personnel are trained to not get involved with patients to protect themselves, but at what point do they pass basic human compassion? Treating patients as if they were an animal, a slab of meat without any feelings, may protect the staff but it has a direct and harmful impact on the patient.
It's been said many times that one of the major reasons so many Americans are turning to complementary and alternative medicine is the caring attention they receive from practitioners. Based on personal experience, I'd certainly have to agree.
The patient had to ask for nausea medication before being discharged because sitting up from examination table to wheelchair was going to be extremely difficult. For the entire ordeal the hospital never offered so much as an ice pack or an aspirin.
Medical personnel are trained to not get involved with patients to protect themselves, but at what point do they pass basic human compassion? Treating patients as if they were an animal, a slab of meat without any feelings, may protect the staff but it has a direct and harmful impact on the patient.
It's been said many times that one of the major reasons so many Americans are turning to complementary and alternative medicine is the caring attention they receive from practitioners. Based on personal experience, I'd certainly have to agree.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
2009 Is New Year For Medical Marketing
Welcome to 2009 and a new year for medical marketing! Today the pharmaceutical industry begins its voluntary moratorium on their branded gifts like pens, mugs, soap dispensers, bandages and everything else that can have a brand slapped on it. Many people feel it's a superficial gesture since it does nothing to reduce the millions of dollars spent to influence doctors (and millions more to influence patients).
There is an interesting nonprofit organization started by a doctor called No Free Lunch that encourages doctors to reject drug company giveaways. Our poor doctors still don't have to worry about going hungry because drug companies can still provide "free" lunches and dinners.
Let's hope that 2009 begins a year of real change in the medical community and they begin to reject the influence peddling from the pharmaceutical industry.
There is an interesting nonprofit organization started by a doctor called No Free Lunch that encourages doctors to reject drug company giveaways. Our poor doctors still don't have to worry about going hungry because drug companies can still provide "free" lunches and dinners.
Let's hope that 2009 begins a year of real change in the medical community and they begin to reject the influence peddling from the pharmaceutical industry.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Heart Attacks Are Different In Women
Heart disease kills more people of both sexes than all cancers combined. More women than men have died from heart disease in the U.S. every year since 1984, and they are twice as likely as men to die after a heart attack yet modern medicine is still trying to figure out the difference between men and women.
According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) women are far more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain for which doctors can't find a cause. In 2006 there were 477,000 women discharged from U.S. hospitals with a diagnosis of nonspecific chest pain, compared with 379,000 men. This is important because that diagnosis is often given to patients who are admitted for a possible heart attack that turns out not to be one.
The problem is that heart attacks often look different in women than men. While both frequently report chest pain, pressure or tightness, women more often have subtle signs. These may include dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, aches in the back, shoulders or abdomen, sudden weakness or fatigue or an overwhelming feeling of doom. A 2003 study found that 95% of women who had heart attacks started feeling some of those symptoms a month or more before.
Be smart, be safe, and if you feel any of these symptoms then err on the side of caution and take action NOW. Remember the old saying: Better Safe Than Sorry.
According to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) women are far more likely than men to be hospitalized for chest pain for which doctors can't find a cause. In 2006 there were 477,000 women discharged from U.S. hospitals with a diagnosis of nonspecific chest pain, compared with 379,000 men. This is important because that diagnosis is often given to patients who are admitted for a possible heart attack that turns out not to be one.
The problem is that heart attacks often look different in women than men. While both frequently report chest pain, pressure or tightness, women more often have subtle signs. These may include dizziness, nausea, breathlessness, aches in the back, shoulders or abdomen, sudden weakness or fatigue or an overwhelming feeling of doom. A 2003 study found that 95% of women who had heart attacks started feeling some of those symptoms a month or more before.
Be smart, be safe, and if you feel any of these symptoms then err on the side of caution and take action NOW. Remember the old saying: Better Safe Than Sorry.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Broken Medical Model
Interesting article in today's Wall Street Journal called Submitting To The Science Of Prevention. It's about a paradigm shift in mainstream medicine that's long overdue. It seems they're beginning to realize their focus on treating disease and illness is not the most effective system after all. Now they are slowly beginning to endorse the concept of prevention and maintenance of good health as the priority.
Of course all of this comes with the heavy financial baggage necessary to keep modern medicine happy, this time in the form of preventative tests. After all, no matter how valid the model we can't have Medicine losing any money now, can we?
Did you know years ago in China you used to pay your doctor every month to keep you healthy and stopped paying him when you got sick? Compare that to our system in American where we pay our doctor when we get sick and stop paying him when we're healthy. Which system do you think is most effective at keeping you healthy?
But at least it's a start and a recognition that complementary and alternative medicine has had this right from the beginning. It's one of the ways that it's lasted for hundreds and thousands of years.
Of course all of this comes with the heavy financial baggage necessary to keep modern medicine happy, this time in the form of preventative tests. After all, no matter how valid the model we can't have Medicine losing any money now, can we?
Did you know years ago in China you used to pay your doctor every month to keep you healthy and stopped paying him when you got sick? Compare that to our system in American where we pay our doctor when we get sick and stop paying him when we're healthy. Which system do you think is most effective at keeping you healthy?
But at least it's a start and a recognition that complementary and alternative medicine has had this right from the beginning. It's one of the ways that it's lasted for hundreds and thousands of years.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Fun Witih Mainstream Medicine
The 30-year-old system of medical coding is heading for an update. The new system, known as ICD-10, would dramatically increase the number of codes used to define various ailments and procedures. The number of codes would be increased ten-fold to 155,000. For example angioplasty today has just one code but the new system will have 1,170 coded descriptions that pinpoint such factors as the location and the device involved for each patient for doctors to choose from each time. Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of insurers predicts billing errors are likely to rise between 10% and 25% in the first year which means patients are going to be billed incorrectly much more often.
All of this is necessary, if painful, progress to facilitate the switch to electronic records and universal information in health care. We'll all have to wait and see if it's really worth the time, expense and hassle.
All of this is necessary, if painful, progress to facilitate the switch to electronic records and universal information in health care. We'll all have to wait and see if it's really worth the time, expense and hassle.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Health Media Bias
I seem to have kicked the hornet's nest recently with a post to the Association of Health Care Journalists about bias against complementary and alternative therapies. Wow! I didn't expect the outburst of responses claiming there was no such thing. Fortunately there were some other brave souls who joined the discussion after that round to respond that yes, in fact, there was clearly a bias in reporting against CAM.
If the buggy makers had been in charge of evaluating the effectiveness of the automobile we'd still be riding horses. The media prefers to turn a blind eye to the influence of money and politics in their coverage of health care. They prefer to rationalize how we spend more on health care than any other nation on earth but rank so poorly compared to other industrialized countries. They bury stories that taint the world of mainstream medicine as if it were heresy.
How can they report on something that they know so little about is my first question? Why don't they demand the same level of research and "proof" for mainstream medicine? I guess with so many jobs disappearing today they prefer to keep their eyes closed and their heads down because most health "reporters" today are simply reporting what the hospitals or drug companies sponsoring the news tell them to cover.
If the buggy makers had been in charge of evaluating the effectiveness of the automobile we'd still be riding horses. The media prefers to turn a blind eye to the influence of money and politics in their coverage of health care. They prefer to rationalize how we spend more on health care than any other nation on earth but rank so poorly compared to other industrialized countries. They bury stories that taint the world of mainstream medicine as if it were heresy.
How can they report on something that they know so little about is my first question? Why don't they demand the same level of research and "proof" for mainstream medicine? I guess with so many jobs disappearing today they prefer to keep their eyes closed and their heads down because most health "reporters" today are simply reporting what the hospitals or drug companies sponsoring the news tell them to cover.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Rising Medical Costs
The fight between doctors and insurance companies continues. Five years ago 700,000 physicians and state medical and specialty societies sued the largest health insurers in the country and won multimillion-dollar settlements and changes in how their claims are processed. That settlement is reaching the end of its 5-year term.
Health care costs in America nearly doubled between 2000 and 2007 with lots of finger pointing going on. Insurance company profits continue to climb with Health Group reporting a 12% increase in net income last year, Aetna reported an 8% increase and Human came in with a whopping 71% increase. The CEOs of these companies earned $13 million, $23 million and $10 million.
Doctors point out shrinking reimbursements and a jump in denied claims which are reducing their incomes. One way they've been attempting to correct the situation caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission which has ruled against them saying they're trying to fix prices.
Meanwhile it's the patients who continue to get caught in the squeeze. Our insurance rates continue to climb, our deductables go up and coverage goes down. And the medical world and insurance industry wonders why there is such growing demand for a single-payer system in America?
And why more people are turning to complementary and alternative medicine?
Health care costs in America nearly doubled between 2000 and 2007 with lots of finger pointing going on. Insurance company profits continue to climb with Health Group reporting a 12% increase in net income last year, Aetna reported an 8% increase and Human came in with a whopping 71% increase. The CEOs of these companies earned $13 million, $23 million and $10 million.
Doctors point out shrinking reimbursements and a jump in denied claims which are reducing their incomes. One way they've been attempting to correct the situation caught the attention of the Federal Trade Commission which has ruled against them saying they're trying to fix prices.
Meanwhile it's the patients who continue to get caught in the squeeze. Our insurance rates continue to climb, our deductables go up and coverage goes down. And the medical world and insurance industry wonders why there is such growing demand for a single-payer system in America?
And why more people are turning to complementary and alternative medicine?
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Medicare Progress
Recently, Medicare agreed to provide coverage for the Ornish Program, the only medically-proven therapy to reverse heart disease without drugs or surgery. This is the first time that Medicare has covered a program of comprehensive lifestyle changes, something insurance companies aren't even doing yet.
Way To Go Medicare!
It's good to see government health care leading the way, especially when it involves saving money and avoiding drugs and surgery. Dr. Ornish and his colleagues are now training and licensing health professionals from around the world in his program for reversing heart disease for free in an open source model ... a radical new trend in medicine.
You may have read about Dr. Dean Ornish in the news lately. Dr. Ornish has expanded his research and recently directed the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may stop or perhaps even reverse the progression of prostate cancer. The initial results demonstrated that 500+ genes were modified by lifestyle in only 3 months, basically turning on more cancer-fighting genes and turning off genes that support cancer growth. For those of you familiar with Bruce Lipton's work or UnBreak Your Health you recognize this is the new science of Epigenetics.
Way To Go Medicare!
It's good to see government health care leading the way, especially when it involves saving money and avoiding drugs and surgery. Dr. Ornish and his colleagues are now training and licensing health professionals from around the world in his program for reversing heart disease for free in an open source model ... a radical new trend in medicine.
You may have read about Dr. Dean Ornish in the news lately. Dr. Ornish has expanded his research and recently directed the first randomized controlled trial demonstrating that comprehensive lifestyle changes may stop or perhaps even reverse the progression of prostate cancer. The initial results demonstrated that 500+ genes were modified by lifestyle in only 3 months, basically turning on more cancer-fighting genes and turning off genes that support cancer growth. For those of you familiar with Bruce Lipton's work or UnBreak Your Health you recognize this is the new science of Epigenetics.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
More To Genes
Researchers have discovered that comprehensive lifestyle changes including a better diet and more exercise can lead not only to a better physique, but also to swift and dramatic changes at the genetic level. The activity was improved diet and exercise along with an hour each day of stress management including such techniques as meditation. The small study involved men with prostate cancer and it found that after the three months, the men had changes in activity in about 500 genes -- including 48 that were turned on and 453 genes that were turned off.
The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This is exactly the type of response that Dr. Bruce Lipton and others involved with the field of epigenetics have been talking about for some time. Research is now beginning to verify that disease isn't simply "in our genes" after all. The choices we make in how we live are clearly a factor.
The activity of disease-preventing genes increased while a number of disease-promoting genes, including those involved in prostate cancer and breast cancer, shut down, according to the study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
This is exactly the type of response that Dr. Bruce Lipton and others involved with the field of epigenetics have been talking about for some time. Research is now beginning to verify that disease isn't simply "in our genes" after all. The choices we make in how we live are clearly a factor.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
It's About The Money
In America we're free to choose our careers based on our ambitions and abilities. When the financial rewards are controlled by third-party payments instead of consumers, the system can go terribly out of balance.
That's what is happening in medicine today. Shortages are being created in many specialties because they earn less than fields where more high-profit procedures can be done per day. For example, in the coming decade America will probably lose 140 of the remaining 400 neuro-opthamologists, specialists trained to detect and treat visual problems connected to the brain. In the last 4 years only 20 medical students have chosen this field.
This trend contributes to the relentless increase in medical costs as both patients and doctors are driven into more expensive, procedure-driven medical treatments. Just one more part of a broken medical system in our country.
That's what is happening in medicine today. Shortages are being created in many specialties because they earn less than fields where more high-profit procedures can be done per day. For example, in the coming decade America will probably lose 140 of the remaining 400 neuro-opthamologists, specialists trained to detect and treat visual problems connected to the brain. In the last 4 years only 20 medical students have chosen this field.
This trend contributes to the relentless increase in medical costs as both patients and doctors are driven into more expensive, procedure-driven medical treatments. Just one more part of a broken medical system in our country.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
The Price of Pain
It may all be in your head after all. In a study published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine the price of a pill determined its effectiveness. In other words the same pill was reported to be more effective when it cost more.
This may be one of the reasons people often prefer high-priced new medications over generics.
The Placebo Effect needs to be studied so we can learn how to capitalize on it. Can you imagine if we spent just 5% on Placebo research than we do on prescription drugs? The pharmaceutical industry would probably disappear within a decade!
This may be one of the reasons people often prefer high-priced new medications over generics.
The Placebo Effect needs to be studied so we can learn how to capitalize on it. Can you imagine if we spent just 5% on Placebo research than we do on prescription drugs? The pharmaceutical industry would probably disappear within a decade!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Medical Accountability
Health care insurers are beginning to adopt the same policy as Medicare in refusing to pay for medical errors. The 28 most common "never events" include mistakes like leaving an object inside a patient during surgery, giving the wrong kind of blood, even bedsores. Best of all, many insurers are also making sure that hospitals don't bill patients for these errors when the insurance company doesn't pay.
Compiled by the National Quality Forum coalition these are mistakes that simply can't be justified in any way. The goal isn't to save money because these events are so rare, the policy is intened to focus hospital attention on safety, but the CDC estimates such errors add $4.5 billion to the nation's health care tab each year.
Does your health insurance have such a policy? It may be worth checking out since their contracts with hospitals may be the incentive to make changes to improve safety and care ... and that could literally save your life.
Compiled by the National Quality Forum coalition these are mistakes that simply can't be justified in any way. The goal isn't to save money because these events are so rare, the policy is intened to focus hospital attention on safety, but the CDC estimates such errors add $4.5 billion to the nation's health care tab each year.
Does your health insurance have such a policy? It may be worth checking out since their contracts with hospitals may be the incentive to make changes to improve safety and care ... and that could literally save your life.
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.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
America Has The Best Health Care?
How can anyone believe that America has the best health care in the world when pregnancy kills 1 in 4,800 American women? Our country ranks #41 in motherhood mortality, and this isn't a case of a small difference. Ireland has only 1 death in 47,600 pregnancies. Italy has only 1 in 25,900. Germany 1 in 19,200. Sweden 1 in 17,400. Spain 1 in 16,400.
America has 1 pregnancy death in every 4,800. We're tied with the East European country of Belarus.
The report was issued by the World Health Organization.
I continue to bring up the state of health care in America to open your eyes to the world of CAM, complementary and alterantive medicine. American doctors don't walk on water and health care in our country is not the best in the world even though we spend more on health care than any other nation on the planet. It's time to consider other options, to think about changes.
America has 1 pregnancy death in every 4,800. We're tied with the East European country of Belarus.
The report was issued by the World Health Organization.
I continue to bring up the state of health care in America to open your eyes to the world of CAM, complementary and alterantive medicine. American doctors don't walk on water and health care in our country is not the best in the world even though we spend more on health care than any other nation on the planet. It's time to consider other options, to think about changes.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
The Safety of Health
The first question I'm often asked is "How safe are these complementary and alternative therapies?" My first response is that none of them kill 100,000 people every year but that's how many people die from hospital infections.
Today I have a better answer because according to the New England Journal of Medicine report most children don't receive proper care. While 68% receive proper care for acute medical problems only 53% receive the correct care for chronic health problems and just 41% get the right treatment for preventative care.
In radio interviews I often tell the story/joke about the two fishermen saving drowning people and how they represent mainstream medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) looks for the source of the problem, the maniac on the bridge upstream throwing innocent pedestrians into the river. The latest report demonstrates that the story isn't far from the truth.
Medicine in America does a great job of treating acute problems but fails at preventative care. It's almost like the medical system doesn't want to lose any customers, isn't it? More and more doctors are becoming specialists to treat the acute problems leaving America with 1/3 fewer general practitioners than other industrialized countries to offer preventative care.
Every news report about failures in the current medical system should open the eyes of every person in the country to other, often better, options called complementary and alternative therapies.
Today I have a better answer because according to the New England Journal of Medicine report most children don't receive proper care. While 68% receive proper care for acute medical problems only 53% receive the correct care for chronic health problems and just 41% get the right treatment for preventative care.
In radio interviews I often tell the story/joke about the two fishermen saving drowning people and how they represent mainstream medicine. Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) looks for the source of the problem, the maniac on the bridge upstream throwing innocent pedestrians into the river. The latest report demonstrates that the story isn't far from the truth.
Medicine in America does a great job of treating acute problems but fails at preventative care. It's almost like the medical system doesn't want to lose any customers, isn't it? More and more doctors are becoming specialists to treat the acute problems leaving America with 1/3 fewer general practitioners than other industrialized countries to offer preventative care.
Every news report about failures in the current medical system should open the eyes of every person in the country to other, often better, options called complementary and alternative therapies.
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