The Old Numbers Racket One way to keep a population unhealthy is to endlessly worry them about getting sick. For the last few decades, purveyors of cholesterol as the core of heart disease have created a medical industrial complex that has been hard to suppress. Now that complex is changing its spots again with new […]
The New Hypochondriacs (Our Brave New Sensor World – 1/30/13)
New York, 2016 Your smartphone blasts you into semiconsciousness at 3:20 in the morning. As you shakily grab the sides blue and white neon flash across the screen – “Warning! You are at risk of heart attack. Consult your physician immediately.” You stare at the messages, but the picture stays the same. Hit a few […]
To Screen or Not to Screen for Cancer (11/5/12)
Cancer Prevention Who would not wish to prevent cancer? When President Nixon started the “War on Cancer,” hopes were high that cancer screening would dramatically lower cancer incidence and death. It did not work out that way. Now, researchers often wonder how much screening benefits hospitals and providers – compared to patients. In his book […]
The Numbers Fetish (9/24/12)
Are You More Than Your Lab Test Numbers? I’ve heard the story many times: a patient comes into a doctor’s office for a “checkup”. He or she is handed glowing lab reports, told they’re in the peak of health – walks out and drops dead. So our lives are more than the sum of our […]
Fear and Loathing in the Doctor’s Office (6/7/12)
Need the Regular Doctor’s Visit Foster Dread? Fear makes money. Fear and dread keep people coming back. That’s how many people view their annual physical – the yearly trip to the doctor. Many public health experts argue strongly against such an annual procedure – especially when people are young and feeling well. But for many […]