"Campaign Myth: Prevention as Cure-all" | Arthritis Information
I haven't seen anything written from this point of view before:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/health/views/07essa.html?partner=rssuserland&emc=rss&pagewanted=all
Interesting article!!!
This paragraph, in particular, really makes you stop and think:
"For those who are ill, the potential benefits typically overwhelm the
potential harms. But the calculus is different for those recruited to
consume preventive medicine: those who are well. They are the ones at
risk for overdiagnosis — and overdiagnosed patients can’t benefit from
prevention, because there is nothing to prevent. Instead, they can only
be harmed."
There is some truth in this (in my opinion) too much emphasis on testing is one of the reasons healthcare costs in the U.S is so out of control. I took a class for work on health economics and the U.S. has the highest number of MRI incidence compared to other countries. Are MRI's always needed? Probably not, but the demand is there and doctors feel pressured to provide. Preventive care is important, especially the key indicators of future problems, which can usually be determined with simple blood tests and a good health assessment of current habits. Again, this is just my opinion.
Cathy
But this is also when the reliance on insurance to pay for our medical treatment helps to not only artificially drive the demand but the price as well. Insurance sets the price, you get paid the same amount whether you do 10 or 100 MRI's on any given machine.
And if the patient only has a copay to deal with not the entire cost its easy to demand an MRI when a X'ray would do. In other words we have completely taken out normal market supply and demand constraints.
[QUOTE=buckeye] And if the patient only has a copay to deal with not the entire cost its easy to demand an MRI when a X'ray would do. In other words we have completely taken out normal market supply and demand constraints. [/QUOTE]
I agree with you. I think healthcare and the cost of the care needs to be more transparent. If people knew the difference between MRI and xray, I would hope they would think twice. Too often, employees don't recognize how they can help to keep costs down by choosing their care wisely. Yet, when premiums go up they sure take notice.
A blog about "Best Practice Alerts", seems to touch on similar things to me:
http://drwes.blogspot.com/2008/10/father-knows-best.htmlFrom the blog:
"Best Practice Alerts" drive testing and procedures, and therefore costs, to our health care system.
Suzanne2008-10-14 08:31:46I think most countries with socialised medicine focus on prevention. I know Canada does. Some of it is screening and early detection, but some of it is encouraging healthy lifestyles. For instance, in Canada cigarettes and alcohol are heavily taxed. People grumble about it, but it does seem to cut down on heavy use of those products. Most community centres have gyms and pools, and many municipalities have programs where low income people can access them free. I think it does help on cutting down overall healthcare costs.
The idea is if you catch a problem early it's a lot easier and cheaper to treat than if you catch it late.
Gimpy-a-gogo2008-10-14 08:42:25
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