Technology does not equal good healthcare.In the September 5 cover story, "The Best Healthcare in the World," Mr. Dennis Behreandt defends the American fee-for-service system, showing it to be far better than the socialized so·cial·ize v. so·cial·ized, so·cial·iz·ing, so·cial·iz·es v.tr. 1. To place under government or group ownership or control. 2. To make fit for companionship with others; make sociable. healthcare systems of other countries. With this I would agree. But what he and most Americans tail to recognize is that there is a tremendous difference between our "sophisticated diagnostic capabilities and treatments" and good healthcare. Yes, our system is the most technologically advanced in the world, but that technology is proving to be the nemesis Nemesis (nĕm`ĭsĭs), in Greek religion and mythology, personification of the gods' retribution for violation of sacred law; the avenger. Sometimes she was said to be the goddess of good and ill fortune. of good healthcare for chronic degenerative diseases. Technology and pharmacology can keep people alive, but know that there is a huge difference between being alive and having a quality life. Even so, in our attempt to keep people alive with our treatment of disease, more people in America die annually from iatrogenic iatrogenic /iat·ro·gen·ic/ (i-a´tro-jen´ik) resulting from the activity of physicians; said of any adverse condition in a patient resulting from treatment by a physician or surgeon. causes (e.g. from the doctors, drugs, surgery, etc.) than all other causes of death combined. Plus, the jury is still out on the massive public health effort to eradicate diseases with vaccines. It seems that we are trading childhood illnesses for much more disabling dis·a·ble tr.v. dis·a·bled, dis·a·bling, dis·a·bles 1. To deprive of capability or effectiveness, especially to impair the physical abilities of. 2. Law To render legally disqualified. conditions later in life (learning disabilities, adult onset asthma, diabetes, etc.). In this country we have made healthcare big business, and treating disease is more important and more profitable than creating health. The definition of health is not just the absence of symptoms, but the state of complete and total well-being. Unfortunately, disease care is about the only health business we have left in this country. Throughout antiquity, the care of one's spiritual and temporal bodies was interconnected and was under the purview The part of a statute or a law that delineates its purpose and scope. Purview refers to the enacting part of a statute. It generally begins with the words be it enacted and continues as far as the repealing clause. of a physician/priest who mediated a two-way connection between the patient and his higher power Higher power is a term used in a 12-step program, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, to describe "a power greater than yourself." Although many participants equate their higher power with God, a belief in God or in formal religion is not mandatory; the higher power is intended as a for the benefit of the patient. Modern medicine in America has made technology and pharmacology the gods to whom the patient must submit his temporal and spiritual body for the benefit of the physician. Can this really be considered the best healthcare in the world? WAYNE R. FISCUS, D.C. Prescott Valley, Arizona Prescott Valley is a town in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. The population was 23,535 at the 2000 census. Prescott Valley was the seventh fastest-growing place among all cities and towns in Arizona between 1990 and 2000. |
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