tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350181109033523476.post6936960085896707956..comments2023-08-24T00:28:08.108-07:00Comments on Why is American health care so expensive?: Conflict of Interest in Medicine--Why should we care?Janice Boughtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02321947802871503562noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1350181109033523476.post-54891496700998333212017-02-01T01:07:35.590-08:002017-02-01T01:07:35.590-08:00It's interesting to me that a woman is the lea...It's interesting to me that a woman is the lead- or shares the lead- on every one of these articles... because it's possibly a function of challenging a "status quo" in the medical industry where until relatively recently, women have not had much voice. <br /><br />I'm in a bind of my own choosing, in a way, with regard to a couple of issues here: I have HepC (since 1968); and I'm seeing a cardiologist for congestive heart failure, where he was responsive enough to allow me to continue taking red yeast rice capsules in place of a statin. My cholesterol has come down... probably as much a result of cutting down on butter as much as the power of red years rice... but, whatever. Giving up beef because of the way its grown) 25 years ago is also a contributor to my fairly good health, despite the erratic heartbeat.<br /><br />I'm on Medicare, and never signed up for Part D, because there was no funding to cover it when it was introduced. (I buy my own red yeast rice and lisinopril with cash.) <br /><br />While I could have been treated for the Hep C with the new "Wonder drug", I'm sort of holding my own... and it's another case of not wanting to suck up resources for a guy whose almost at the "average life expectancy point" anyhow. (I've lived a long time, compared to your average Hippie.) $70-$80,000 for my 'cure' would go a long way to pay for more useful things, in the Big Picture... and I'm also interested to see what kind of a difference my relatively clean and nutritious life style can provide, when dealing with the chronic bug in my liver (no smoke, no drink for 34 years, now... not easy for a fellow who loved making wine and home brew). <br /><br />I DO appreciate my doc wanting to "fine tune" my treatment for the heart problem... and the labs required to "check my levels", periodically. I also appreciate that he listens to what I have to say... and hasn't scolded me (yet). From our conversations I've gotten an inkling of what affects him, with regard to "outside pressures" beyond simply being aware of the incredible amount of information available- about Everything- these days! On some level, I'm probably a guinea pig... since I have a chronic condition. I don't mind that. It's a pretty good trade-off, the way I see it. (And I may leave my cadaver to the local med school, to be useful beyond my ability to pay my bills.) <br />Thanks, as always, for your observations on ethics- and "common sense"- in medicine. Honesty isn't always easy, or comfortable. But, given the culture we have lived in, it's so much simpler to put one's body/mind at ease, when one has a sense of WHAT facts and situations are most important to one's physician. ^..^ herberthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04375097734444644319noreply@blogger.com