“Insanity: Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.” These wise words, by Albert Einstein, resonate in the ears of every impassioned entrepreneur. Yet, in spite of this, the current state of American health is declining, ranking seventy-second (second from the bottom) in overall health in industrialized countries, while remaining the number one obese nation in the world (Glidden). Why is the US, with the most famous and grandstanded healthcare in the world, have the statistics that prove the opposite is true? Contrary to popular opinion, in addition to public awareness issues regarding diet, there is substantial evidence that the current medical system is actually doing more harm than good in relation to chronic diseases, leading to the decline in American health. The health care of the United States, despite being bragged upon here and admired by other countries, seems to be performing less than ideally when statistics are concerned. The facts don’t lie. As of last year, 28% of the entire US is obese, and every one in ten are diabetic (2013 State Health Rankings). The infant mortality rank rates 61st, while “the US spends almost 3 times as much per person on health care as every other industrialized nation in the world and we are 2nd from the bottom in the health of our citizens” (Glidden). Though it’s no secret the American diet is nothing to be proud of, perhaps there is more contributing to the poor statistics than originally assumed. One thing is for sure, whatever the US is doing to treat chronic disease and health in general, it’s not working. The primary medical system is the Allopathic, MD directed system, with a specific set of basic beliefs. There are numerous other active practices incl... ... middle of paper ... ...." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 May 2013. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. "Medical Errors: Time to Take Action." Consumers' Research. Jan. 2000: 10-15. SIRS Issues Researcher. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Meletis, Chris D., N.D., and Alexander Schauss, Ph.D., FACN. "As the Soil Becomes Minerally Depleted, the Seas Become Minerally Enriched." Trace Minerals Research. Trace Minerals, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. Mercola, Joseph, Dr. "Anti-Cancer." AntiCancer. N.p., 2007. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. Seaman, Andrew M. "Some Cancer Docs Say Their Income Tied to Treatments." Reuters. Thomson Reuters, 26 Dec. 2012. Web. 22 Mar. 2014. Vinocur, Leigh, M.D. "Sudden Cardiac Arrest Kills Too Many Young Athletes." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 13 Feb. 2011. Web. 04 Mar. 2014. Wallach, Joel D., and Ma Lan. Dead Doctors Don't Lie. Bonita, CA: Wellness Publications LLC., 2014. Print.
New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 11 Jan. 2010. Web. 19 May 2010.
Those who are observing the concerns of medicalization have brought up the fact that the pharmaceutical industry can and will increase the preventive measures for health care and affect many. Obesity is one of the most deadly public health crises of the 21st century. Globally, at least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese [24]. In the United States, it’s the second leading cause of preventable death (WHO,
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) reported in 1999 that between 44,000 and 98,000 people die each year in the United States due to a preventable medical error. A report written by the National Quality Forum (NQF) found that over a decade after the IOM report the prevalence of medical errors remains very high (2010). In fact a study done by the Hearst Corporation found that the number of deaths due to medical error and post surgical infections has increased since the IOM first highlighted the problem and recommended actions to reduce the number of events (Dyess, 2009).
American health, specifically our obesity epidemic, has grown into a trending media topic. A quick Google search will bring up thousands of results containing a multitude of opinions and suggested solutions to our nation’s weight gain, authored by anyone ranging from expert food scientists to common, concerned citizens. Amongst the sea of public opinion on obesity, you can find two articles: Escape from the Western Diet by Michael Pollan and The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food by Michael Moss. Each article presents a different view on where the blame lies in this public health crisis and what we should do to amend the issue. Pollan’s attempt to provide an explanation pales in comparison to Moss’s reasonable discussion and viable
The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Aug. 2013. Web. The Web.
Kass, Leon. "Neither for Love nor Money: Why Doctors Must Not Kill." Public Interest. No. 94. (Winter 1989)
New York Times. The New York Times Company, 23 Jan. 2010. Web. 22 Jan. 2014.
The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 1 July 2011. Web. 21 Aug. 2012.
The contentious debate about our healthcare system is an epitome of the ongoing political circus in America. With the 2012 elections looming just around the corner, we can expect the vitriol to rise rapidly. Our country spends twice as much on health care per capita compared to other developed countries. The current system is so dysfunctional and projected spending will increase every year, putting an unbelievable strain to our fragile economy. Majority of health care dollars spending are channeled on to patients with chronic illnesses, many of which can be prevented. Unfortunately, medical doctors practicing preventive care are being squeezed out of the equation. The shortage of primary care doctors in America is inevitable because of limited income, lesser prestige, and fewer opportunities.
What happens when an athlete that is in the best of physical health suffers a sudden cardiac death? The sudden death leaves the community, team, and family shocked and devastated and looking for answers.Whether they are throwing a pitch, shooting the game winning shot, running to the finish line, or making the tackle, an athlete in the United States suffers a sudden cardiac arrest every three days. ( Subasic 18 ) The deaths are rising in sudden cardiac deaths, but not all athletes die each time a cardiac arrest takes place. Each time an athlete suffers a sudden cardiac arrest they don’t all die, but the deaths are rising. Sports related cardiac deaths are very sudden and most scientists do not know why they occur, but researchers are conducting many studies to try to determine the exact cause. Therefore there have been many studies done trying
Sudden cardiac death in young athletes was first reported in 1980s and defined as cardiovascular event that occurred during physical activity or within hours of physical activity without awareness of underlying cardiac abnormalities. (Subasic p.18) As the years have gone by, sudden cardiac deaths have occurred more frequently then in the 1980s. Scientists have been researching why exactly athletes suffer from cardiac arrest, and still most scientists haven’t found a clear and direct reason on why they occur. Although initially reported in the United States in the early 1980s, the causes of sudden death in ...
The health care is extremely important to society because without health care it would not be possible for individuals to remain healthy. The health care administers care, treats, and diagnoses millions of individual’s everyday from newborn to fatal illness patients. The health care consists of hospitals, outpatient care, doctors, employees, and nurses. Within the health care there are always changes occurring because of advance technology and without advance technology the health care would not be as successful as it is today. Technology has played a big role in the health care and will continue in the coming years with new methods and procedures of diagnosis and treatment to help safe lives of the American people. However, with plenty of advance technology the health care still manages to make an excessive amount of medical errors. Health care organizations face many issues and these issues have a negative impact on the health care system. There are different ways medical errors can occur within the health care. Medical errors are mistakes that are made by health care providers with no intention of harming patients. These errors rang from communication error, surgical error, manufacture error, diagnostic error, and wrong medication error. There are hundreds of thousands of patients that die every year due to medical error. With medical errors on the rise it has caused the United States to be the third leading cause of death. (Allen.M, 2013) Throughout the United States there are many issues the he...
It is shocking to know that every year 98000 patients die from medical errors that can be prevented(Kohn, L. T., Corrigan, J. M., & Donaldson, M. S. (Eds.), 2000). Medical errors are not a new issue in our healthcare system; these have been around for a long time. Hospitals have been trying to improve quality care and patients safety by implementing different strategies to prevent and reduce medical errors for past thirty years. Medical errors are the third leading cause of death after heart disease and cancer in America (Allen, 2013). In addition medical errors are costing our healthcare system an estimated $735 billion to $980 billion (Andel, Davidow, Hollander, & Moreno, 2012).
Obesity and overweight remain the two major social problems in the United States. Apart from the fact that obesity and overweight are dangerous by themselves, they also cause a variety of negative health consequences. Our lives our overloaded with tasks and obligations, and we often choose to eat something fast. “Fast”, however, does not necessarily imply “useful”, and more and more people face the risks of becoming obese even at young age. Because obesity has already become a national i...
Over the course of the last few decades, the U.S. has seen a drastic rise in the spread of obesity. Through the rise of large-scale fast food corporations, the blame has shifted toward the mass consumerism of these global industries. It is, however, due to poor lifestyle choices that the U.S. population has seen a significant increase in the percentage of people afflicted with obesity. In 1990 the percentage of obese people in the United States was approximated at around 15%. In 2010, however, it is said that “36 states had obesity rates of 25 percent or higher”(Millar). These rates have stayed consistent since 2003. The obesity problem in America is