CNNs H1N1 story this morning caught my attention. A mother tried repeatedly to get her otherwise healthy daughter treatment for flu symptoms. She was repeatedly told "take two aspirins and get bed rest." When her daughter's health started declining rapidly, she ended up in the ER where it was found that the virus had attacked her heart. The daughter barely survived.
Compare this story to the ones where parents are demanding risky, unproven treatments for autism, men are demanding expensive proton therapy for prostrate cancer, women are demanding yearly mammograms and siblings are demanding heroic end-of-life treatments for their elderly parents. All these demands are being made without supporting scientific evidence.
Clearly, there's an element of American middle-class society that demands instant treatment for any illness, regardless of the cost. And, there is an element of the medical community that is willing to provide the treatment. On the other hand, there is another element of American society that doesn't have health insurance and can't afford to get their teeth cleaned or have a yearly check up.
The health care system is trying to fend off these demands--maybe not successfully as in the H1N1 case. The danger of excessive demand and the attempts to control it are that it's overloading the medical system and making it difficult to separate the truly sick and needy patients from the hypochondriacs.
No comments:
Post a Comment