Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Put the Love Back

It will surprise no one that my Tuesday rant today will talk about the health business.

I'm not talking specifics, I'm talking about the state of the whole affair. Because our "health care" is no longer about HEALTH CARE. It's about money.

Anyone who says otherwise is fooling themselves. Of course there are individual doctors out there who care very much about their patients, and who are working diligently to help. But they also see that the system is broken. I know this because some of them have told me so. That's one of the good things about being a reporter; you hear stuff. I know how to ask the right questions.

Wellness models would work much better, and that is what we should be working towards. We need more dieticians, nutritionists, and mental health therapists. We need folks who make calls and check up on people.

We need to put the love back in the system, and take out the greed.

I have tried many different ways to take care of myself. Some of those are non-western medicinal modes, such as acupuncture, Reiki, and Tai-Chi. I also like physical therapy (western style) and chiropractic care as healing modalities. I have found some benefit from all of them at various times. I prefer all of these to a traditional doctor's visit at a big facility (I do like my independent and feisty primary care doctor). However, western medicine has its place and can be useful. You can't heal a broken leg with acupuncture, after all, though you can certainly help it heal better.

The problem is, those types of healing modalities aren't quick fixes. We all want to be better in the next minute. We can't miss a day of work, after all (gosh, there's that money thing again). Hence the "pop a pill" mentality. Or the "blast it with chemo" mentality. Sure, these might work, but I have to wonder at what cost - not monetarily, but health-wise. What are we doing to ourselves?

I think diet changes would fix a lot of health problems, not just for me, but for the large majority of the population. If we have to have a nanny state to bring people back to good health, I don't have a problem with that. Outlaw big milkshakes and force the food suppliers to come up with safe ways to preserve products. Make sure every single additive in a food source has been tested, and not by the company that wants to use it, but by an independent laboratory. Our food should not be poison. I suspect a lot of it is.

When I was having a major surgery a year there for six years, back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, I found the best health care came not from the actual surgery, but from the healing hands of the nurses who soothed my brow and encouraged me to get out of bed by holding my hand, putting an arm around me, or gently touching my knee on their way out the door.

Touch is, I think, one of the most underrated healing modalities out there. We all need more of it. Go get a massage!

I am quite concerned by the lack of follow-up from western medicinal facilities. I have a friend with breast cancer who stopped going to her oncologist and switched her care to her breast surgeon (the oncologist office made her cry every time!). But the oncologist's office never once bothered to call and see if she was okay, if she was receiving treatment, etc. I know people have the right to refuse care, even to chose to die from what is ailing them, but somebody ought to at least make a phone call.

This cold callousness is going to be the death knell of the health business in the U.S. I predict people will turn more and more to alternative methods - and unfortunately to some of the quackery things that were predominate in the 19th and early 20th century (which will only make things worse) - if the health business in the US doesn't actually become true HEALTH CARE.*



*This has absolutely nothing to do with the Affordable Health Care Act. Health care had become a health business long before that became law. Just so you know.*

7 comments:

  1. You're right! It's all about the money—how much money Big Pharma can make by keeping us dependent on their remedies and treatments. This is why a cure will not be found for many diseases because the money is in the treatment, not the cure.

    I'm not sure that dieticians and nutritionists are all that helpful because so many of them bought into faulty info—such as Big Ag's food pyramid. Two years ago, I wasted my time attending a diabetic class presented by a nutritionist—whose info was not only wrong, but harmful to those who believed her. She was not even familiar with the latest studies that proved some of her info wrong.

    Until our food is returned to being "real food" that isn't highly processed, loaded with additives, or from pesticide-laden GMO crops, I don't think the state of our health is going to get better.

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  2. It's nice to know that you've considered natural methods for healing. It is true that you can't get instant healing when we had a physical therapy session or a chiropractic treatment. We need regular visits to our practitioner to make sure that our body is adjusting to those treatments. It takes time, but it's definitely worth it.

    Alan Siegel

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  3. I agree. And insurance would serve itself better by paying for nutritional consultations and not just for diabetics.

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  4. It certainly is mainly about money. Doctors are being squeezed by insurance companies that WILL NOT PAY them, too. Slice, Slice, Slice so that the share holders make more money. Oh, there are stupid doctor's who buy into Pharmaceutical Mantras without even warning about side effects that could kill a patient. Or stupid Cardiologists who tell a post major surgery patient she can stop taking her blood thinner. Duh!

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  6. No one should be deprived of quality healthcare, whether it's from a traditional or modern practitioner. When the patient considered acupuncture or chiropractic care, he should attend all his scheduled treatments and sessions with the practitioner. Just like what Alan said -- it takes time, but it's worth it. I hope you won't have any troubles with healthcare next time. :)

    Javier Carol @ US HealthWorks

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  7. Awesome thoughts! It’s really lonesome to know that some practitioners believe money matters are of utmost importance, than the cure they can give to others. In that regard, it’s better to take preventive methods, like acupuncture treatment and chiropractic therapy to maintain the balance of your body and strengthen your immune system. As long as there are consistent treatments and sessions with those Western techniques, you’ll be amazed with the wonders it can do to your health.

    William Connors @ The Healing Station

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