Why Are Physicians Afraid of Physicians?

Adopted from TIME Magazine - May, ‘06

"While there are bad doctors practicing bad medicine who go undetected, that's not what scares other physicians the most. Instead, they have watched the system become deformed over the years by fear of litigation, by insurance costs, by rising competition, by billowing bureaucracy and even by improvements in technology that introduce new risks even as they reduce old ones."

Long gone are the days of going to a medical doctor who utilizes his time and training to make the best decisions regarding your health. No one knows this more then your very own medical doctor. The strong resistance to treatment, hospitals, taking drugs, or going to a doctor at all sends home a very powerful message of extreme caution to all of us.

"It requires almost a stroke of luck to enter a U.S. hospital and receive precisely the right treatment - no more, and no less. A landmark Rand Corp. study published in 2003 found that adults in the U.S. received, on average, just 54.9% of recommended care for their conditions." In other words, there’s just better than a 50/50 chance you won't be harmed or the victim of negligence when you see your medical doctor. We live in hazardous times when it comes to medicine.

While, in the case of an emergency like a tumor, clogged artery, kidney stone, or compound fracture, medical technology is beyond amazing. But, something like treating a simple infection or childhood illness - can cause mega problems. "A patient with anything but the simplest needs is traversing a very complicated system," says Dr. Donald Berwick, a pediatrician and president of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. "And as the machine gets more complicated, there are more ways it can break."

Without question, over treatment is the most critical problem. Doctors afraid of "missing something" and insurance that rewards testing, surgery, and expensive drugs creates a "dangerous impulse towards excess." Any good doctor knows when a cyst on your ankle or wrist is not a tumor. Any good doctor who sees a healthy child with a cough knows that agreeing to surgery and antibiotics is potentially a risk worse than the condition.

You always have 2 choices: to work on building and maintaining your health vs. treating symptoms and illness with drugs and surgery. While there are some magical medial solutions to emergencies out there, every day we learn that the field of medicine is replete with dysfunctions, conflicts of interest, overt concern for profit, and the bottom line: dangerous chemicals.

Getting sick is a risky proposition. Invest today in your health. You may not like eating well and exercising. You might not like making time for them either. You may be "anti-alternative," against things that are different like chiropractic and nutritional support. However, if you want to prosper later, you invest now.

LET'S MAKE A DIFFERENCE TOGETHER. IF WE DON’T, THEN WHO WILL? PLEASE, TELL THE PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND LOVE ABOUT WHAT YOU LEARN HERE IN THIS OFFICE.

Speak up and educate others,

Dr. Craig