Category: Health Care Policy (Page 10 of 22)

      The Debate Over Prostate Cancer Treatment

      February 5, 2012 /

      It is estimated that 30-40 percent of men over 50 years old will be affected by prostate cancer, however, there is some debate in the medical community regarding which course of action is best going forward.

      Routine monitoring of PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) may reveal false- positive, and positive results which may later lead to unnecessary and often harmful treatment.

      Elevated levels of this protein can indicate prostate cancer, but it can be caused by other things as well..

      Several studies have suggested many men are over-screened for prostate cancer, and this over-screening has in many cases caused more harm than good, leading men to chose a biopsy and treatment for a slow-growing cancer that may have never caused them harm during their lifetimes.

      Alternative strategies for men with low-risk prostate cancer typically fall into two camps: observation with and without the intent to cure.

      Do get a second opinion when treating your condition and consult your physician for the best course of action for your case.

      Doctors, Health Care Policy, Quality Control, Research, Wellness

      A Must Read Critique on Health Care in America

      January 31, 2012 /

      We all expect doctors to make us well but can they do harm?

      Dr. Otis Webb Brawley, the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society wrote, “How We Do Harm: A Doctor Beaks Ranks About Being Sick In America”.

      He describes the ways in which the whole medical system is broken and who is responsible.

      Spoiler: We all are.

      It is amazing the number of health care professionals who seemingly reject the scientific method. They prescribe treatments they believe to be appropriate as opposed to therapies that are known to be appropriate based on objective scientific evidence. This form of ignorance is a root cause of much of the overuse of medical therapy.
      Too often, doctors fail to distinguish what is scientifically known from what is unknown, from what is believed. This is beyond mere disagreement about interpretation of the science. There is often selective reading of the science, especially by those trained in a specialty wanting to advocate for it.

      Doctors, Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Hospitals, Quality Control, Research, Wellness

      Alzheimer’s Treatment By 2025

      January 21, 2012 /

      Finding an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s has become a priority for the U.S. government.

      Regardless, an estimated 5.4 million Americans already have Alzheimer’s or similar dementias — and how to help their families cope with day-to-day care is a priority, the advisory committee made clear Tuesday.

      The disease is growing steadily as the population ages: By 2050, 13 million to 16 million Americans are projected to have Alzheimer’s, costing $1 trillion in medical and nursing home expenditures. That doesn’t count the billions of dollars in unpaid care provided by relatives and friends.


      Among the goals being debated for the national plan:

      —Begin a national public awareness campaign of dementia’s early warning signs, to improve timely diagnosis.

      —Give primary care doctors the tools to assess signs of dementia as part of Medicare’s annual check-up.

      —Have caregivers’ health, physical and mental, regularly checked.

      —Improve care-planning and training for families so they know what resources are available for their loved one and themselves.

      Health Care Policy, Research, Resources, Wellness

      Very Few Are Spending the Most Health Care Dollars

      January 20, 2012 /

      White, elderly, women with private health insurance are spending the most health care dollars, the federal government reported.

      $2.6 trillion the nation spent on health care in 2010 translated into just over $8,400 per person.

      But that is not the whole story.

      A different study just released by a separate federal agency shows that second number doesn’t actually mean very much.

      Specifically, in 2009, just 1 percent of the non-institutionalized population accounted for 21.8 percent of all U.S. health spending. And just 5 percent accounted for half the total spending.

      Meanwhile, the bottom half of the population accounted for a mere 2.9 percent of total health spending in 2009.

      Health Care Policy, Health Insurance, Medicare, Research, Resources

      How Doctors Die

      January 18, 2012 /

      What your doctor knows about dying might influence your end of life care decisions.

      Shannon Brownlee’s book, “Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer”, Bloomsbury USA; First Edition edition (September 18, 2007) sheds light on what physicians know about extraordinary measures used in the ER and in intensive care units and why many physicians opt out of such care.

      Dying in a hospital bed attached to tubes is not how many in the medical field would choose to die.

      Why would doctors be so anxious to avoid the very procedures they deliver to their patients every day? For one thing, they know firsthand that these procedures are most often futile when performed on a frail, elderly, chronically ill person. Only about 8% of people who go into cardiac arrest outside of the hospital are revived by CPR. Even when your heart stops in the hospital, you have only a 19% chance of surviving. That’s a far cry from the way these procedures are portrayed on TV, where practically everybody survives having his heart shocked and undergoing CPR.

      Doctors, Health Care Policy, Hospitals, Quality Control, Wellness

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