There was a fascinating article in the Wall Street Journal yesterday (Tuesday, March 15th) entitled Your Medicine Metabolism. Did you know that individual reactions to a common drug like codeine can range from life-threatening to completely ineffective? Codeine is prescribed for pain but individual genetic make-up can cause a wide range of reactions. About 2% of the population metabolizes the drug so quickly that a standard dose can become life-threatening. Meanwhile about 20% of people notice very little effect from the drug.
Our unique genetic composition means that drugs react differently in each of us. While there are new tests being developed to map our genes so doctors can determine which drugs will work and which ones will cause problems, they're very expensive today. Unfortunately most folks discover they have a problem the hard way, with a bad reaction. Doctors are slowing waking up to the fact that even "common" drugs can have issues.
While I dislike drugs as a matter of principle I recognize that there are times and circumstances when they can be very beneficial. That being said, be careful when using them. Ask questions, don't just accept that your doctor can walk on water and never makes a mistake. There's an old saying that doctors bury their mistakes. Be careful.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
Free Novella
March 1st and 2nd you can download my novella, "Susan's Search", for FREE to your Kindle!
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, February 16, 2016
WSJ Review of "Cure"
"But 'Cure' points a way toward a future in which the two camps might work together. After all, any medicine that makes a patient better, whether conventional, alternative, or placebo, is simply medicine." Such is the conclusion of Dr. Ross's review in today's Wall Street Journal of Jo Marchant's new book titled simply "Cure." We can only wish at this time that all medical professionals had such open minds.
The book is apparently filled with lots of anecdotes about people who've recovered from injury or other health problems simply from the use of a placebo. I've used a story in my speeches for years about a knee replacement study done at Baylor Hospital in Houston where folks who didn't have their knees replaced scored the same as those who did, simply from the placebo effect.
The drug industry knows all about the placebo effect and they hate it. It ruins all of their research and studies by showing how folks really don't need the latest and greatest drugs after all. So they campaign aggressively and effectively against it with the FDA and anybody else who will listen. And the medical community steps right in line for them.
The human body has unknown and unlimited abilities to heal itself. Conventional medicine wants to maintain its exclusive control of health care in America. Alternative health care recognizes the potential of every person to heal themselves. Maybe one of these days the two opposites will shrink the distance between their extremes. Apparently there is reason for hope.
The book is apparently filled with lots of anecdotes about people who've recovered from injury or other health problems simply from the use of a placebo. I've used a story in my speeches for years about a knee replacement study done at Baylor Hospital in Houston where folks who didn't have their knees replaced scored the same as those who did, simply from the placebo effect.
The drug industry knows all about the placebo effect and they hate it. It ruins all of their research and studies by showing how folks really don't need the latest and greatest drugs after all. So they campaign aggressively and effectively against it with the FDA and anybody else who will listen. And the medical community steps right in line for them.
The human body has unknown and unlimited abilities to heal itself. Conventional medicine wants to maintain its exclusive control of health care in America. Alternative health care recognizes the potential of every person to heal themselves. Maybe one of these days the two opposites will shrink the distance between their extremes. Apparently there is reason for hope.
Thursday, February 4, 2016
Medical Malpractice
Did you know that just 1% of all doctors were responsible for 32% of all medical malpractice claims during the past decade? According to the New England Journal of Medicine recently those are the numbers yet very little is being done to hold those responsible accountable. Why? Maybe because the national database called the National Practitioner Data Bank doesn't list doctors by name to protect their privacy, they're assigned a number. It seems that Colorado is one of the very few states where medical malpractice is a matter of public record.
Why doesn't the medical profession take the responsibility to revoke the licenses of bad doctors? Don't they realize that by protecting the 1% that are bad they're casting a shadow on the 99% of doctors who do a good job? Letting a bad doctor simply move from one state to another and start practicing again harms patients.
It's time for voters to start demanding that their elected officials begin making state licensing boards become more vigilant in protecting voters, not the doctors that send them money.
If you want to learn more I understand that Dr. Lawrence B. Schlachter has a new book coming out soon called "Malpractice: A Board-Certified Neurosurgeon Reveals How The American Health Care System Fails To Protect Patient Safety and Investigate Negligence."
Why doesn't the medical profession take the responsibility to revoke the licenses of bad doctors? Don't they realize that by protecting the 1% that are bad they're casting a shadow on the 99% of doctors who do a good job? Letting a bad doctor simply move from one state to another and start practicing again harms patients.
It's time for voters to start demanding that their elected officials begin making state licensing boards become more vigilant in protecting voters, not the doctors that send them money.
If you want to learn more I understand that Dr. Lawrence B. Schlachter has a new book coming out soon called "Malpractice: A Board-Certified Neurosurgeon Reveals How The American Health Care System Fails To Protect Patient Safety and Investigate Negligence."
Thursday, January 21, 2016
Free Novella
My new novella, Susan's Search, will be available for Kindle again FREE on January 31st and February 1st! Don't miss this opportunity for a great read. While Susan is searching for answers to her medical problem her family is anxiously searching for her. But it all works out well in the end.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 9, 2015
Health Care Pricing
Today the Senate is going to hold hearings on how drug prices are set in this country. Apparently the incredible rise in prices has finally gotten their attention. Does anyone really believe the BS from the drug companies that they need all of our money for "research" today? But not money from every other industrialized country that has a national health program? The United States pays more for drugs than anyone else in the world.
But drug prices are just the tip of the iceberg. Total spending on health care increased 5.3% last year, the biggest increase since 2007. Health care now consumes 17.5% of our country's GDP. Sure, drug price increases jumped 12.2% last year but that was just part of the equation.
When is America going to figure out that we don't have to spend more money on health care than any other nation on earth? When are we going to accept the fact that all of our money doesn't produce better results? After all, we're still pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to longevity and almost every other measure of health care. The bottom line is when you have a health care system based on profit (in other words, capitalism) then you're going to have the most expensive health care in the world. It's just that simple.
We don't have a profit incentive for our police, do we? Or firemen? Or any of our armed forces? No, expect them to perform at a reasonable level of pay from our taxes. Why shouldn't our medical system perform in the same way?
But drug prices are just the tip of the iceberg. Total spending on health care increased 5.3% last year, the biggest increase since 2007. Health care now consumes 17.5% of our country's GDP. Sure, drug price increases jumped 12.2% last year but that was just part of the equation.
When is America going to figure out that we don't have to spend more money on health care than any other nation on earth? When are we going to accept the fact that all of our money doesn't produce better results? After all, we're still pretty much at the bottom of the totem pole when it comes to longevity and almost every other measure of health care. The bottom line is when you have a health care system based on profit (in other words, capitalism) then you're going to have the most expensive health care in the world. It's just that simple.
We don't have a profit incentive for our police, do we? Or firemen? Or any of our armed forces? No, expect them to perform at a reasonable level of pay from our taxes. Why shouldn't our medical system perform in the same way?
Friday, October 9, 2015
Susan's Search Now Available
It seems like it's taken forever but my novella, Susan's Search, is now available for Kindle on Amazon. To learn more about it please visit:
http://alltiedupproductions.com/2015/10/susans-search-new-book-by-alan-smith-takes-readers-on-a-journey-for-reclaiming-health/
Enjoy!
http://alltiedupproductions.com/2015/10/susans-search-new-book-by-alan-smith-takes-readers-on-a-journey-for-reclaiming-health/
Enjoy!
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