If I have something to report, I intend to do so. Hopefully the death threats will be kept to a minimum, but I will report what is said or written to me. I do not guarantee a high level of research--just reporting. After all, that is what passes for investigative journalism these days--what did they say? "How do you feel about that?" It's valuable in this sense:
reporting is the basis of what an individual feels about her situation.
Doctors tell us they rely on "double blind studies," but for the most part they've never done those studies themselves, so that what they are really relying on is the same thing I am--reporting. A large company says it does a study. So?? The tobacco companies did the same in the 50's, 60's, and 70's. I'm old enough to remember that doctors recommended Lucky Strike and Camel cigarettes, "back in the day." Apparently medical ethics is separate enough from the monies received for endorsements not to bother certain folk.
I am NOT against the medical profession, and I am not against drug companies. I am also not against the alternative medicine industry, or the vitamin industry, or chiropractors...but if I discover something from any direction, I intend to report it. That way everyone can hate this blog equally, except perhaps the consumer who has to pay for all this stuff.
Saturday, October 12, 2013
You and the Doctor
I've been following information about the medical profession for years. Sometimes, doctors do wonderful things. They save lives, restore health and so on. However, doctors increasingly make mistakes, some of them due to the pressures of their work, but most often because they will not, or cannot, spend enough time with each person to understand them, and render an accurate diagnosis. In addition, doctors actually do prescribe according to what the drug companies tell them is the best path, without personal research into the efficacy of given medications, or even their side effects.
The purpose of this blog is essentially to cast the light of day on these behaviors, from the viewpoint of the person who buys the service--the medical consumer.
The genesis for this came into my mind some time ago when I was watching and listening to the information about "Obamacare." It seemed clear that the Senate and House intended to satisfy the drug companies, the insurance companies, the HMO's, and every other participant, except the consumer. The feeling I got (apart from the political wrangling) was that this new system was to be imposed on the consumer, who had never had any input on what HE or SHE wanted from their medical care. After all, they pay for it. Why shouldn't they have a say? That, apparently, was never the plan. Forget Democrat or Republican. Forget Conservative or Liberal. At bottom the issue is that medical care is a service that people buy, and it is one of the few services they cannot choose. I can select WalMart or Target or Costco. I can select Michelin or Bridgestone. I can select Chevrolet or Toyota or Cadillac or Mercedes. But what I can't select, or determine, is the quality of medical care I'm to receive.
Up until very recently, doctors have been able to resist online reviews of the quality of their work, as have hospitals and drug companies and insurers. All the reviews published have been government agencies or publications read mostly by the medical community. Why has there never been a "consumer reports" for insurance companies? Why no real-time/real people assessments of drugs? Because the various companies vehemently resist the reporting of such information. "It's inaccurate and unfair," they say. Perhaps it is. Nevertheless, people have a right to be heard, whether it's about their real estate agent, their mechanic, or their doctor. For too long, doctors have been able to be secretive about the quality of service they offer, and part of the reason is that nobody assembles this information. My purpose is simple: to give the consumer a tool (maybe one of many) to have a say about his or her physician or other medical professional. You can "sound off" here, and say what you want.
In fact, please do say what you think of your doctor, insurer, or other medical provider. These sorts of blogs get read. And if what you have to say is good, say that as well.
The purpose of this blog is essentially to cast the light of day on these behaviors, from the viewpoint of the person who buys the service--the medical consumer.
The genesis for this came into my mind some time ago when I was watching and listening to the information about "Obamacare." It seemed clear that the Senate and House intended to satisfy the drug companies, the insurance companies, the HMO's, and every other participant, except the consumer. The feeling I got (apart from the political wrangling) was that this new system was to be imposed on the consumer, who had never had any input on what HE or SHE wanted from their medical care. After all, they pay for it. Why shouldn't they have a say? That, apparently, was never the plan. Forget Democrat or Republican. Forget Conservative or Liberal. At bottom the issue is that medical care is a service that people buy, and it is one of the few services they cannot choose. I can select WalMart or Target or Costco. I can select Michelin or Bridgestone. I can select Chevrolet or Toyota or Cadillac or Mercedes. But what I can't select, or determine, is the quality of medical care I'm to receive.
Up until very recently, doctors have been able to resist online reviews of the quality of their work, as have hospitals and drug companies and insurers. All the reviews published have been government agencies or publications read mostly by the medical community. Why has there never been a "consumer reports" for insurance companies? Why no real-time/real people assessments of drugs? Because the various companies vehemently resist the reporting of such information. "It's inaccurate and unfair," they say. Perhaps it is. Nevertheless, people have a right to be heard, whether it's about their real estate agent, their mechanic, or their doctor. For too long, doctors have been able to be secretive about the quality of service they offer, and part of the reason is that nobody assembles this information. My purpose is simple: to give the consumer a tool (maybe one of many) to have a say about his or her physician or other medical professional. You can "sound off" here, and say what you want.
In fact, please do say what you think of your doctor, insurer, or other medical provider. These sorts of blogs get read. And if what you have to say is good, say that as well.
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