Cutting Health Care Costs

In this WSJ article, http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124388621755473351.html
Janet Adamy reports that one of the ways health care providers (which is a broad catch all category) plan to trim the high cost of health care in this country is to reduce unnecessary care. I wanted to comment on this as I agree that there are procedures, medicines, devices, surgeries and diagnostics that are not necessary. I think that health insurance and health care are resources that must be conserved. It is also my belief that just because there is a medicine for that does not mean it should be taken nor that taking it is without risk and consequence. These are chemicals after all. I do take medication but not without very careful consideration and or after I have tried another approach. I hope that you will be the type of person that asks why? how? what? all the questions that you might ask if it were something suggested for your child, or even for your pet.

I understand that our culture hasn't really supported the questioning of doctors but since we have had direct to consumer marketing of everything from pills, to tests to devices both the doctor and the patient require pause. For example, just because the commercial said that I should tell my doctor I think I have restless leg syndrome does not mean that I have it and that he or she should medicate me for it. Doctors have to tell us no sometimes and we have to tell them no too.

I had a primary care physician from around 2002 to 2005 with whom I had developed a very trusting and respectful relationship. He moved out of family practice because of reimbursement issues I think and I have had two physicians since then with whom I also have good rapport. I will not however, forget this particular man and how he helped me become healthy. He also made some mistakes.

Anytime I said ouch, he thought I should have a scan. He seemed certain that I had a stress fracture, but it turns out I never did. He also put me on Vioxx and when I said I felt like I could hear my heart beating in my ears while taking it, he told me not to worry because I didn't have any blood pressure risk factors. [when they pulled vioxx I told him that he was trying to kill me, he had also had me on bexta] He liked medicine and often had a sample of this or that in his drawer.

It was during this time however that I went back to school for my public health degree and also that I became involved with my employer wellness program. I started to read research myself and also I saw what the drug industry was doing first hand from my work in the medical field. I wanted no part of the drugs and their side effects and I also wanted no part of any more xrays. I began to question the doctor then and even the dentist. What will the scan tell you and how will you treat me differently from what you find. Often there was no difference. I began to say instead, lets make a diagnosis by exam, you know, like they used to do before all this stuff was invented. I have to admit that my concern over radiation was one part but the co pay for an MRI one time was another. I backed out of that one and you know, we treated my back pain with ice and physical therapy and I was fine. I saved over 1000 dollars.

So yes, there is unnecessary care and it comes with an expense. Not everyone is comfortable with the research or the confrontation and I DO trust comparative research and regulation to help rein these costs in. Of course, the ultimate plan is to spend money on prevention. That is in most plans and was even a big piece of republican senator Judd Gregg's proposal, so let's get to it. Take care of yourself and avoid these conflicts!