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Believing In Medical Treatments That Don't Work
Hugh Pickens writes "David H. Newman, M.D. has an interesting article in the NY Times where he discusses common medical treatments that aren't supported by the best available evidence. For example, doctors have administered 'beta-blockers' for decades to heart attack victims, although studies show that the early administration of beta-blockers does not save lives; patients with ear infections are more likely to be harmed by antibiotics than helped — the infections typically recede within days regardless of treatment and the same is true for bronchitis, sinusitis, and sore throats; no cough remedies have ever been proven better than a placebo. Back surgeries to relieve pain are, in the majority of cases, no better than nonsurgical treatment, and knee surgery is no better than sham knee surgery where surgeons 'pretend' to do surgery while the patient is under light anesthesia. Newman says that treatment based on ideology is alluring, 'but the uncomfortable truth is that many expensive, invasive interventions are of little or no benefit and cause potentially uncomfortable, costly, and dangerous side effects and complications.' The Obama administration's plan for reform includes identifying health care measures that work and those that don't, and there are signs of hope for evidence-based medicine: earlier this year hospital administrators were informed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that beta-blocker treatment will be retired as a government indicator of quality care, beginning April 1, 2009. 'After years of advocacy that cemented immediate beta-blockers in the treatment protocols of virtually every hospital in the country,' writes Newman, 'the agency has demonstrated that minds can be changed.'"
First, they came for the treatments that didn't work, and I said nothing.
Next, they left all the old people to die.
My joke got modded as Insightful and my insight got modded as Funny.
However, my qualm is more with more with scientologists, and that various left field christian sects that refuse to immunize their kids or see doctors.
Wouldn't those sects be right field?
Yes, that... and Capitalism.
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
AFAIK Lance is an outlier.
While moderate exercise (even just walking) is scientifically proven to be beneficial to the average person, I'm not so sure about doing marathons, Tour de France and other stuff.
We could hypothetically say "Spiderman is pushing X and is still climbing walls and swinging from building to building", that's no proof that it will benefit the average person.
As you say, genes count a lot. Some people recover from certain injuries faster than others even at the same age. There are many people who aren't tough enough for rugby, even if they tried - they'd get some knee injury and that's it. The tough ones are the ones who stay. Self selecting sample.
This discussions always ignore on MAJOR problem. America subsidizes the R&D for medical around the world. Our Insurance companies are indeed victims of the medical industry as are individuals. Americans pay more for drugs and experimental procedures almost universally because there are no price controls and few single entities, like a government, with enough buying power to dictate costs. Yes costs also get pushed up by emergency and indigent care, yes they get pushed up by people delaying care for to long because they can't afford it, those things alone are not the drivers.
What this will do is either severely curtail the R&D going on in the medical field or raise costs enough on other nations that their care levels go down, taxes go up or both.
The truth is you have to be pretty poor in America to not be able to afford reasonable quality care, as in an HMO plan. Really you can get basic coverage for 10K per year for a family of four. My guess is a good number of uninsured people could come up with that money and they DECIDED to allocate it another way.
Still these are probably people with 45K salary's who after a couple child credits don't pay any taxes. Subsides are always fungable all that's going to happen is these people will drop the HMO if they had it and run out and get cell phones and cable tv. The others are going to continue with the cell phones and cable and gain health care. This all comes at the expense of the middle class. The rich won't be paying at least not proportionally. They have to many tax shelters available to them. America's problem is its tax code. It is completely unfair to the middle class. Even when we are not havening are taxes raised directly criminals like our tax evading Treasury secretary appointed by our Communist President are busy with quantitative easing. Guess who that helps? Super rich banking organizations that need to get rid of bad debt cheaply, and super rich people who can afford to hold things like precious metals rather than cash; and then pay employees with cheaper dollars. Mean while the money the rest of us have our money devalued.
Then the middle class get to pay the highest tax rates "in real/opportunity cost terms" so it can be gifted to a bunch of dead beats.
Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
So you'll send the government with it's guns to stick in someones face if they don't 'share'. If you were not a coward you'd steal from the rich and give it to the poor and take any consequences this would garner you.
I'd go on a Vegan diet but the delivery time from Vega is too long. --brownkitty
You're a selfish tool who is unappreciative of the advantages he was blessed with, and unwilling to share them with the less fortunate. I hope one day you realize that.
Or you are a selfish tool who is unappreciative of the advantages that the rich are already sharing with you (especially in terms of income tax, for which the rich pay more than 30% of their income and the poor pay none) and are demanding ever more and more.
I hope one day you realize that—preferably before the rich break the shackles of slavery you have placed on them.