Most people are well aware that an estimated 45 million Americans currently do not have healthcare, but is the crisis simply the lack of health insurance or even the cost of health insurance? Is there a bigger underlying problem at the root of our healthcare system? Although the U.S. claims to have the most advanced medicine in the world, government health statistics and peer-reviewed journals demonstrate that allopathic medicine often causes more harm than good.

People in general have always felt they could trust doctors and the medical profession, but according to the Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2000, iatrogenic death, also known as death from physician error or death from medical treatment, was the third leading cause of death in America and rising, responsible for at least 250,000 deaths per year. Those statistics are considered conservative by many, as the reported numbers only include in-hospital deaths, not injury or disability, and do not include external iatrogenic deaths such as those resulting from nursing home and other private facility treatments, and adverse effects of prescriptions. One recent study estimated the total unnecessary deaths from iatrogenic causes at approximately 800,000 per year at a cost of $282 billion per year, which would make death from American medicine the leading cause of death in our country.

Currently, at least 2 out of 3 Americans use medications, 32 million Americans are taking three or more medications daily, and commercials and advertisements for pharmaceutical drugs have saturated the marketplace. Although our population is aging, exorbitantly expensive drugs are being marketed and dispensed to younger and younger patients, including many children who years ago would never have been given or needed medication, for everything from ADHD to asthma to bipolar disease and diabetes. Clearly, the state of health in this country is not improving even though there are an increasing number of medications and treatments. Between 2003 and 2010, the number of prescriptions are expected to increase substantially by 47%. In recent years, numerous drugs previously deemed safe by the FDA have been recalled because of their toxicity, after the original drug approvals were actually funded by the invested pharmaceutical companies themselves.

According to the media, thanks to advances in U.S. drugs and medical procedures, Americans are living longer statistically, but they are living longer sicker, with a lower quality of life, and often dependent on multiple expensive synthetic medications that do not cure or address the underlying causes, but only suppress symptoms, often with a plethora of dangerous side effects to the tune of billions of dollars for the drug industry. Considering that the U.S. is supposed to have the most advanced technology in the world and the best health care system, it is at odds that we spend the most on healthcare, yet are the most obese and most afflicted with illness outside of the AIDS epidemic in some third world countries.

Unless you have an acute emergency that requires emergency room care, being admitted to a hospital environment may be more dangerous to your health than staying out. In 2003, epidemiologists reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that hospital-acquired infections have risen steadily in recent decades, with blood and tissue infections known as sepsis almost tripling from 1979 to 2000. Nearly two million patients in the U.S. get an infection while in the hospital each year, and of those patients over 90,000 die per year, up dramatically from just 13,300 in 1992. Statistics show that approximately 56% of the population has been unnecessarily treated, or mistreated, by the medical industry.

Additionally, as a result of the overuse of pharmaceutical drugs and antibiotics in our bodies and environment, our immune systems have become significantly weakened, allowing antibiotic-resistant strains of disease-causing bacteria to proliferate, leaving us more susceptible to further disease. Not surprisingly, incidences of diseases have been growing at epidemic levels according to the CDC. Now diseases once thought conquered, such as tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are much harder to successfully treat than they were decades ago. Drugs do not cure. They only suppress the symptoms that your body needs to express, while they ignore the underlying root cause. Side effects of synthetic and chemical drugs, which even if they are partly derived from nature have been perverted to make them patentable and profitable, are not healthy or natural, and usually cause more harm than any perceived benefit of the medication.

Where “physician errors” are concerned, these may not be entirely the fault of the doctors, as they are forced to operate within the constraints of their profession or risk losing their license, but doctors have become pawns and spokesmen for the drug companies, and the best interest of the patient has become secondary. In the name of profit, physicians are also under great pressure from hospitals to service patients as quickly as possible, like an assembly line, increasing the likelihood of error.

In conclusion, increases in healthcare costs are not just the result of frivolous law suits, but are primarily the result of a profit-oriented industry that encourages practices that lead to unnecessary and harmful procedures being performed, lethal adverse drug reactions, infections, expensive legitimate lawsuits, in-hospital and physician errors, antibiotic resistance due to overprescribing of antibiotics and drugs, and the hundreds of thousands of subsequent unnecessary deaths and injuries. Many people do not realize that there are healthier natural options, and anything unnatural or invasive we are exposed to is likely to cause either immediate or cumulative damage over time.

There is a huge concern in the medical industry that if a biological weapon were released that those sick might come to the hospitals in such large numbers that before you realized an attack had occurred everyone in every nearby hospital would also be infected. Then of course the hospital itself would be rendered useless and all those already in the hospital no matter what the reason would literally condemned. The biggest issue with this is that those places we have available to help our populations stay well would be immediately and totally useless.

One of our Think Tank Members considering this and having worked in the medical field almost three decades and understanding the very fast moving technologies and innovation in robotics had contemplated the use of robotics in the event of a bio-terrorist act. Today modern hospitals have all kinds of robotic type technologies and are very leading edge with their devices. These state of the art devices make hospital robotics even more possible. Swift in Montana writes in this solution during our online discussion of robotic advances:

“One of the best places for them to work would be in hospitals that have infectious disease floors where communicable diseases are treated. They would be able to administer medications, check on the vitals of the patients, IV flow rates etc. without anyone risking their own health. Should there be a flu pandemic this would really help to keep the numbers down as would having robots to keep the area sterilized and as germ free as possible. Sensors could be built into them to determine when there was a certain level of particulates in the air for those with contagious lung issues and a robot could move around and clean the viruses from the air.”

When further discussion of tele-robotics came up as one of the incredible advances of robotics in medicine and what that technology has meant for NASA applications in repairs of Hubble Telescope, Satellites, ISS or pre-flighting the Shuttle for safe return it was determined that such technology could also be used in hospitals for outbreaks when operations and surgery were to be done. Since no person would risk infection, while we learned what the problem was and how to cope with it. For instance a bio-situation or bio-terrorist attack in the middle east somewhere could be diagnosed, isolated and prevented from spreading while our CDC here and other scientists around the world tuned into the procedure, thus using the brains of many to solve the now isolated bio threat from afar. Swift from Montana further discusses other possible issues with bio-terrorism, namely that if the bio-terrorist see that their attack is not working they might seek to do further acts of International Terror and has these comments to offer:

“Perhaps the issue of doing surgery in another country would not mean that the physician would actually have to travel there. He could operate the controls, while a staff from that country assisted in the procedure thus eliminating the possibility of being kidnapped or tortured for humanitarian efforts. Maybe the residents of the country would look at what they were doing if the only entities that would come anywhere near them were machines. If a machine was captured, it could blow everyone up and eliminate several problems at one time. Robots would certain be effective in teaching people many skills that they might not have the opportunity to learn. The most successful programs in Third World Countries have always been those that teach the citizens how to do something that will take care of their own-’the teach a person to fish principle’. The most basic surgeries could easily be handled in sterile, relatively primitive situations. Medications to control infection and pain would be all that was needed afterwards. Lasers could be built in so that scalpels would not always need to be used. Thus keltoid scars that often don’t heal well on darker skins could be minimized.”

Computer modeling shows that if you can quickly diagnose and then isolate a situation such as an outbreak in those first crucial hours, then what could have turned into a pandemic turns into a controllable and conquerable problem.

The police arrive at the accident scene promptly. A driver has run his automobile into a guardrail while exiting a highway. The driver does not seem to be injured but is somewhat incoherent and is slipping in and out of consciousness. Did he strike his head? Is he inebriated? Is he on drugs? A quick review of the driver’s attire reveals a medical alert bracelet that identifies him as a Coumadin user. This is crucial information for those responding to the incident.

Coumadin (the brand name for Warfarin) is a medication that has offered protection from strokes, heart attacks, pulmonary embolisms other conditions resulting from blood clots. Coumadin is an anti-coagulant, or blood thinner, that helps to prevent the formation of blood clots. Those with certain heart conditions or who are subject to irregular blood clotting can benefit significantly from Coumadin. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Coumadin is a medication that must be carefully monitored to insure the correct balance in the user’s system to avoid serious complications.

Coumadin dosage is a very precise science and is determined by the specific condition being treated, certain characteristics of the person with the condition and the rate of clotting as determined by regular testing. In order to achieve the proper levels of Coumadin it may be necessary to take different doses each day. This requires that the user be very aware of the schedule and keep good records of dosage requirements and testing schedules.

Warfarin (generic Coumadin) was actually used as rat poison. Large doses of the compound caused rodents to hemorrhage internally and die. While the doses for humans are relatively miniscule, the dangers of excess bleeding are still a concern. The delicate balance of Coumadin in the system is the reason that many users will wear some form of medical alert identification. In the event of an emergency or an accident, attendants can readily identify a Coumadin user and attempt to discern whether to avoid certain other medications that may interact adversely with Coumadin. Emergency personnel can also determine if Coumadin may be the culprit.

There are many medical conditions and medications that can cause a situation or a reaction whereby a person cannot communicate. Conditions such as epilepsy, diabetes, food allergies and the use of medications like Coumadin can be easily and readily identified by wearing medical alert jewelry with the proper information engraved or stored. A small problem can become a large problem if someone takes the wrong course of action, or no action, based on a lack of information. A small, attractive, fashionable piece of jewelry can help you look sharp?and save your life.

Domestic violence is not over when the victim is safe and out of harm’s way. It’s not over until justice has been served. Even then, it’s not over. It’s not over until the victim is safe, justice has been served, and the victim is well.Consider these facts:

Abuse, especially repetitive abuse, leaves a lasting “impression” on the health, well-being, and post-abuse functioning of the victim. This impact lingers long after the bruises fade, the bones mend, and the abuse is over.

Victims of violence seek healthcare more often than non-victims. The severity of victimization is a powerful predictor of the healthcare costs generated by these victims.

Most healthcare visits by victims of domestic violence are not domestic violence patients presenting with injuries, but rather medical problems that seemingly are not related to current or past injuries.

The health effects of violence can reach across the life span. Studies have now shown that adults who were abused in childhood vs. those who were not have more:

• Infectious diseases

• Mental health disorders
• Hypertension
• Diabetes
• Dermatitis
• Asthma
• Allergy
• Acne
• Abnormal menstrual bleeding
• More heath-threatening behaviors such as smoking, the use of alcohol, driving while intoxicated, avoiding regular gynecological examinations, not wearing seat belts, sedentary lifestyle, and high-risk sexual encounters.

The abuse sustained in an intimate partner relationship does not have to be physical to cause poor health. Intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) can take several forms: physical abuse, verbal abuse, and forced sex. When Dr. Ann Coker and her colleagues looked at domestic violence in a large series of patients, they found that approximately 14% of domestic violence victims have only been victimized psychologically, not physically. These victims had higher rates of numerous medical problems that the non-abused do not have. Among them:

• Disability that prevented working
• Arthritis
• Chronic pain
• Migraine and other frequent headaches
• Stammering
• Sexually transmitted infections
• Chronic pelvic pain
• Stomach ulcers
• Frequent indigestion, diarrhea, or constipation.

These findings pose an interesting question: Do victims of psychological abuse have fewer or more health problems than victims of physical violence? Dr. Coker and her colleagues found that “psychological IPV was as strongly associated with the majority of adverse health outcomes as was physical IPV.” The old childhood taunt of “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me,” is wrong, wrong, wrong. And now we have research to support the idea that it’s wrong.

Survivors of domestic violence or IPVA will tell you that life after abuse is never the same. Some experience insomnia, multiple aches and pains, problems with concentration, intrusive thoughts, fatigue, and irritability. Any one of these can interfere with effective functioning and set the stage for depression and even despair.

Violence and abuse of all forms is complex and the resulting health effects are interwoven. No single approach cures all. Medical help for domestic violence victims and survivors exists but is scattered. Appropriate care is often difficult to find and access, but it can be done. Healthcare providers and survivors must learn to work together to secure the best state of health possible for survivors of domestic violence.

There are a lot of fabulous stories about Cetyl Myristoleate (also known as CMO or CM) floating across the Internet. Mine is one of them. There have been a number of articles published in little known journals or magazines. There have been four small booklets published. One making fantastic claims, all four filled with anecdotal evidence but offering no real research to back up the claims. There are a number of Doctors sharing the results they are having with their patients but so does every other wonder-working product. The question is, are there any scientific studies to back up any of these claims? The answer is yes. To date there are several patient studies and two double blind studies completed. I will mention the three most prominent below.

Dr Len Sands of the San Diego Clinic completed the first human study on the effectiveness on Cetyl Myristoleate in 1995. There were 48 arthritis patients in this study. All but two showed significant improvement in articular mobility (80% or better) and reduction of pain (70% or better). Obviously the study had its flaws. One doctor conducted the study, there was no control group and the number of participants was small. Even so, it suggested to many that maybe there was some hope here and that more scientific studies should follow.

The first double blind study followed two years later. Dr. H. Siemandi conducted a double blind study under the auspices of the Joint European Hospital Studies Program. There were 431 patients in the study, 106 who received cetyl myristoleate, 99 who received cetyl myristoleate, and glucosamine, sea cucumber, and hydrolyzed cartilage and 226 who received a placebo. Clinical assessment included radiological test and other studies. Results were 63% improvement for the cetyl myristoleate group, 87% for the cetyl myristoleate plus glucosamine group and 15% for the placebo group.

In August of 2002, a double blind study was published in the Journal or Rheumatology. The study included sixty-four patients with chronic knee OA. Half of the patients received a cetyl myristoleate complex and half a placebo. Evaluations included physician assessment, knee range of motion with goniometry, and the Lequesne Algofunctional Index (LAI). The conclusion was that the CM group saw significant improvement while the placebo group saw little to none. In fact in their conclusion the state that CM “may be an alternative to the use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of OA”.

Advanced Medical Systems & Design, Ltd completed the last study I would like to mention in Oct 2001. It was not a double blind study but the study included 1814 arthritis patients. The results showed that over 87% of the subjects had greater than 50% recovery and over 65% of those showed from 75% - 100% recovery following a sixteen day regimen. I know that this is not the most scientific study but a study this large does suggest that there could be a positive benefit to the use of CM in the treatment of arthritis.

Conclusion: There is mounting evidence that CM can be effective in the treatment of many forms of arthritis. While it is true that the evidence from these three studies can not be considered conclusive, it is a beginning. It should challenge you to think out side the box and consider that just because it did not come from a drug company does not mean that it will not work. With over 10,000 people a year dying from Nsaids would it not be great to find a safer and more effective product. Especially with the cost of prescription treatments for arthritis costing into the hundreds and good Cetyl Myristoleate products can be found for between $20 and $40.

This must be a mistake! How could his drug costs rise from $150 a month to $1101 in just three weeks? My hands shook while I read the pharmacy bill.

There was no mistake. The bill I held recorded the drugs ordered by my fathers Alzheimers’ care unit. In only three weeks at this eldercare facility, his drug expenses had soared an incredible 734%. Ironically, his quality of life had plunged about the same percent. Walking and talking when he entered, he now spent his days confined to a wheelchair, unable to walk, drugged into a persistent stupor.

“I’ve got to do something.” The thought haunted me all day.

Then, that evening, an incidental trip to the grocery delivered the help I needed. It came in the form of a thick paperback book, The PDR Pocket Guide to Prescription Drugs (PDR Pocket Guide).

The PDR Pocket Guide provides tons of information for all prescription drugs on the market when it was printed. Specifics include:

• generic equivalents,
• why the drug is prescribed,
• how it should be taken,
• when it should not be taken,
• side effects and special warning, and
• possible interactions with other drugs and food.

The PDR Pocket Guide is available through Amazon.com, or you might find a copy like I did at your local grocery or bookstore. Jam-packed with almost 1700 pages of information, this paperback is a surprisingly affordable $6.99.

Using the pharmacy’s bill as a list of medications, I read the PDR report for each drug my father was using. What I found astonished me.

Two of fifteen drugs prescribed were being used “off-label” (not FDA approved for the condition it is used to treat). One of those was specifically contraindicated for use with Alzheimer’s patients. Two more were from drug families that I had previously identified as causing allergic reactions in my father.

When I was young, my father used to kid me by saying, “Up with this I will not put!” Up with this I wasn’t about to put either, so I called his doctor.

“My father is allergic to Furosemide.”

He bristled. “Where did you get an idea like that?”

“Furosemide is a sulfa drug. He’s allergic to sulfa drugs.”

“I never heard anything like that about Furosemide,” he barked. “Who told you that?”

“The PDR Pocket Guide.”

“Well, the PDR has a lot of stuff you don’t need to know.” His arrogance grated on my nerves.

“No more Furosemide.” Now I wasn’t asking, I was demanding. “You’ve seen his rash. He didn’t have it when he came to the care unit.”

“You’re not qualified to say what he should or should not have.”

“What am I doing,” I wondered, “arguing with a doctor who should be helping?” I wish I’d spoken the words I thought next. “Bye-bye! You’re fired!”

But, in that moment, I resolved to be fully in control of all my father’s drugs. I would learn everything I could and provide drugs direct to the facility. . .or not. There would be no more ordering drugs without my specific authorization

I enlisted the expertise of a pharmacist I found just down the street. She graciously took time from her crowded day to answer all my questions and explain anything I didn’t understand. She took a brief history of my father’s illness, made note of his allergies, and offered money-saving suggestions. She focused on providing excellent service. In short, she was, and is, an angel.

I immediately began to look for another physician to take over my father’s care, but I was too slow. Within a few weeks, my father died of complications from a massive insulin overdose.

Was my experience unusual? Probably not, according to a study from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS). On the subject of the increased cost of pharmaceuticals for people over-65, the study’s author, Marie Stagnitti, MPA, reports:

Every year from 1997-2000, the average out of pocket expense for prescription medicines for those with a purchase and age 65 and older was more than three times as high as the average out of pocket expense on prescription medicines for those with a purchase and under age 65.

The potential for overmedication in the elderly is clear in Stagnitti’s chart showing an average 23.5 prescriptions in both 1999 and 2000 for the over-65 group that used prescription drugs. The number of prescription drugs used by the under-65 group seemed high to me as well: 9.5 for 1999 and 10.1 prescriptions for the year 2000.

Overmedication is not only crushingly expensive for our elderly, it represents a real and present danger. You can do something about it. Please, learn about and oversee medications. You will help elders save money. You might even save a life.

Michael Richardson, MD has some suggestions on maximizing your next doctor’s visit.

?Find a primary care doctor you can talk to and start building a relationship. Make a “well visit” to get acquainted. Be sure your medical and alternative health care providers keep your doctor up-to-date. This will help to avoid drug interactions, duplicate testing, and unnecessary health expenditures.

?What are your top 3 concerns? Write them down in order of priority. Make sure they are understandable and logical. Most doctors are very efficient in addressing multiple issues when necessary, as long as you are organized and clear. In other words, don’t waste time piecing a story together. Save it for problem solving.

?Where does it hurt? This is not the time to act heroic or shy. Tell it like it is. Be honest about your concerns.

?Listen up! Don’t move on to thinking about how to ask the next question without understanding the answer to the first one.

?Do you have any problems taking specific drugs? Let the doctor know. Keep a written list of drugs and supplements that have given you problems. It will save time and help prevent future adverse reactions.

?How healthy is your family? Medical problems experienced by family members may directly affect your health risks. Keep the doctor up-to-date about new family events.

?Don’t be passive. Make it easy for your doctor to contact you with test results or other health-related information. Refuse to accept “If you don’t hear from us, then everything is OK”.

?Know your insurance and what you’ll get paid. Some medical offices deal with hundreds of insurance plans, including those that have different versions depending on the employer. Your doctor may not know what your plan covers, when referrals are required, or what you drug plan is like. Do your homework!

?Make sure you’re #1. Watch for signs that you may receive better care elsewhere such as long waits, frequent interruptions, unreturned calls and differences in philosophy.

?Over 50% of all marriages end in divorce. Not all doctor relationships work out either. If your approach to medical care, philosophy toward life, and/or style of communication are simply not compatible with your doctor’s, recognize it and move on.

It’s now possible to locate and purchase a wide variety of Medical Supplies on the internet. Whether you’re looking for Medical Supplies for your medical practice or your looking for home health care needs, just about anything can be found through searching online.

You can find wheelchairs, canes, stethoscopes and lab coats, to name just a few. Increasingly, the person living at home needs an ever widening choice of medical supplies because of their choice to live and manage their own health needs.

If you work in the health care field you’ll need medical supplies to help you with your work. Quality products that you know you can depend on will give you greater confidence during stressful situations.

Quality Medical Supplies are now available to anyone with a computer who is willing to spend a little time searching.

Some suggestions to consider when purchasing medical supplies are to buy from a company that offers a wide variety of products. This will insure that the products you buy are of the highest quality and come with a guarantee.

Quality, dependable Medical Equipment is an important component of every medical practice. It can’t be overstated that while the practice of medicine is an art, Medical Equipment is the science behind the implementation of that art.

Increasingly, patients are becoming more sophisticated in their understanding of the medical supplies and Medical Equipment that is being used to treat them. This means that a health care provider needs to know and understand not only how their equipment operates, but also have confidence that the Medical Equipment they use is of the highest quality.

Your Medical Equipment needs to be reliable and of a high quality.

The tools of your profession, whether it’s a stethoscope or a nebulizer, can now all be ordered online over the internet, generally at substantial savings. This means an easier approach to Medical Equipment management.

Both the professional and home health consumer are now ordering many of their Medical Equipment and medical supplies right from their computer. Prices are low and the quality is excellent. If you work in the health care field you’ll need medical supplies to help you with your work. Quality products that you know you can depend on will give you greater confidence during stressful situations.

Just about all health care providers have need of stethoscopes. Whether you’re a nurse, respiratory therapist or a medical doctor, the need to auscultate the chest, lungs and heart is a necessary and important part of your work. In deciding from the many stethoscopes to choose from it’s important to keep in mind what you’ll be using your stethoscope for. For general purpose listening, stethoscopes are excellent tools and come at a very good price.

Cardiologist may like to choose from stethoscopes that can record sounds that can later be played back on their computer.

Comfort when using stethoscopes.

Many people don’t realize that a stethoscope and actually be uncomfortable to use if the ear pieces are not soft. Obtaining the right ear piece that is soft and comfortable is very important if you plan to use your equipment frequently.

Generally, the thicker the tube, the better sound conduction you’ll experience. stethoscopes come in both single and double tube models. The single tube splits into two separate tubes while the double tube model stethoscopes send sound waves to each ear through a single tube, possible allowing for better sound interpretation.

If you work in the health care field you’ll need medical supplies to help you with your work. Quality products that you know you can depend on will give you greater confidence during stressful situations.