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Why Doctors Hate Science
theodp writes "A 2004 study found some 10 million women lacking a cervix were still getting Pap tests. Only problem is, a Pap test screens for cervical cancer — no cervix, no cancer. With this tale, Newsweek's Sharon Begley makes her case for comparative-effectiveness research (CER), which is receiving $1 billion under the stimulus bill for studies to determine which treatments, including drugs, are more medically sound and cost-effective than others for a given ailment. Physicians, Begley says, must stop treatments that are rooted more in local medical culture than in medical science, embrace practices that have been shown scientifically to be superior to others, and ignore critics who paint CER as government control of doctors' decision-making."
Evidence-based medicine is not the norm in the US, but you can't necessarily blame the doctors for failing to consider it: the whole system is the problem. Consider the case of Dr. Daniel Merenstein, a family-medicine physician trained in evidence-based practice.
... there is little evidence that early detection makes a difference in whether treatment could save your life. As a result, the patient did not get a PSA test. Unfortunately, several years later, the patient was found to have a very aggressive and incurable prostate cancer. He sued Merenstein for not ordering a PSA test, and a jury agreed--despite the lack of evidence that it would have made a difference. Most doctors in the plaintiff's state, the lawyers showed, would have ignored the debate and simply ordered the test. Although Merenstein was found not liable, the residency program that trained him in evidence-based practice was--to the tune of $1 million.
In 1999 Merenstein examined a healthy 53-year-old man who showed no signs of prostate cancer. As he had been taught, Merenstein explained
This game will waste your life. Don't clicky!
The quote I like best is: "What do you call 'Alternative Medicine' that works?" "Medicine"
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I thought insurance companies helped pay for regular checkups and the like because it helped prevent worse illnesses that would potentially be much more costly?
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Sorry but you are massively uninformed. There are different kinds of health insurance just like there's different kinds of auto and disability insurance. What you are talking about is a "major medical" policy that only kicks in when your costs exceed ~$2k. This is the exact kind of policy I have. Why do I have this kind of policy? Because to get a policy that starts at $0 would cost me over a $1k a month. So, these policies already exist and they are already VERY common. The fact that you and the parent poster don't know about them is utterly fucking shocking to me. Even with major medical, I still have to pay over $200 a month for health insurance just for myself (non-smoker, non-obese).
The bottom line is that the cost of health care has skyrocketed compared to average income. It becomes less and less affordable and is becoming a greater and greater burden on the economy. In fact, the idiots that perpetuate the system we have today are driving us into socialized medicine (their worst fear) just because there will be no other way to deal with the costs. Frankly, I can't wait just so I can laugh my fucking ass off. Most doctors fucking suck anyway. Like everything else, 90% of them are worthless. Too bad you don't have time to shop around while you're in the middle of a heart attack.
"After all, if the government was or is so efficient at providing health care then why not have them provide other things too like cars, vacations, computers, designer clothing, and everything else that people want."
You must be fucking kidding me. It would be impossible for even the government to be less efficient than what we have today. Socialized systems in other western countries are far more efficient. We spend TWICE what England and Canada do per capita on health care.
Seriously, you need to actually READ about this stuff before you spout your mouth off. You have no idea what you're talking about.
Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?