SICKO, America’s healthcare system found ‘critically ill’

by Russell Jaffe MD PhD, July 4, 2007

As we celebrate our 231st anniversary of freedom in America, let us remind ourselves that this means freedom from "taxation without representation", and freedom from odious oppression of opaque external authority.

SICKO, the Michael Moore documentary on America’s healthcare system, calls attention to the health insurance industry, which represents an opaque taxing authority which succeeds in collecting our dollars as monthly premiums, yet fails in the delivery of caring, competent, and compassionate healthcare to all of our citizens.

Transparency Is Our Ally

Opacity interferes with making wise, informed choices about our health. Further, if we applied what we already know about promoting health as a proactive priority, substantial saving of lives and resources can be quantified. Similar conclusions have been reached by a variety of experts. Indeed, almost every major study of America’s healthcare system has concluded that we could hardly do worse in terms of how much well-being is yielded for the resources currently expended.

America’s health report card: 2006-2026

America ranks 15th to 37th out of 153 nations studied in all measures of health. We spend two to three times more per citizen than other developed countries. This year, over $2 trillion dollars, one in six dollars of our whole economy, are allocated to healthcare, over 90 cents of each dollar on disease treatment. The remaining nine cents of each healthcare dollar are devoted to research and development of tomorrow’s remedies.

Mechanistic Viewpoint is NOT Prevention

Our national remain priorities remain focused on a mechanistic rather than functional or integrative assumptions about the human body. These research priorities were established a generation ago. We are again in need of a fundamental evaluation of the relation between our health care needs, regulatory priorities, and resources allocated. The convergence between these three could be better.

We preach prevention and yet we devote only one percent, about a penny of each healthcare dollar, to actual prevention programs.

Prevention Saves Dollars and Reduces Cost of Health Care

Many proven preventive programs save $3-4 by the fourth year for each $1 spent in the first year. This is a healthy return on investment (ROI). America has increased our share of national wealth devoted to sick care from 4.6% in 1960 to almost 17% in 2008 and 20% in 2020 (projected) if current trends continue. For example, in Japan, healthcare costs per worker contribute about $100 to the cost of the vehicle. Healthcare is a right of all citizens in Japan. In the US, typical cost per vehicle for healthcare is over $1500. Healthcare remains a privilege in America.

Medical Information Doubles every Four Years

While information doubles in medicine in less than four years, our healthcare institutions evolve and change with decade or longer time frames. This means the gap between knowledge and practice widens daily. Information technologies exist to help bridge this widening gap. It is time to make such information technologies national priorities for our healthcare system.

Herioc Medical Interventions in Last Six Months of Life

We expend half of a typical Medicare beneficiaries lifetime healthcare resources during the last six months of the individual’s life, often at great cost to quality of that life. When physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects are included many people prefer to end their life in comfort, at home, with loved ones around them even if this means sacrifice of a short time that could be added by heroic medical interventions. We deserve to be birthed with reverence and die with dignity.

Healthcare Technology Enabling or Disabling?

We are awash in technology throughout healthcare that can enable better care. Examples include electronic medical records, electronic prescribing, informed dispensing of medications including simple instructions.

Technology may be harmful when it intrudes upon the therapeutic relationship between healthcare professionals and people in need. Technology can enable or disable the human healing responses.

Adverse Effects of Drugs and Procedures

Adverse effects of properly administered conventional medical therapies cost 100,000 – 250,000 lives and $200-$400 Bn annually. Don Berwick and colleagues champion a ‘Save 100,000 lives’ campaign which can save lives and resources. However, these programs to reduce medical errors have low priority. The issue is not enough of a "hot button" for political constituencies to take action.

Diabetes and Obesity

Diabetes and obesity are increasing rapidly, currently estimated to be 6% of the population, and projected to reach 10% in a few years. How do we reverse this trend? By being more active physically and mentally, and by eating more nutritious whole foods, by eating in harmony with our nature, we can reverse this alarming trend towards increasing diabetes and obesity in our population.

Incentives for Bad Health or Incentives Good Health ?

The problem is, we give our people incentives for bad habits of ill health. From foods, to attitudes, to activity, our priorities have been appearance and convenience, rather than healthfulness. We know quite well how to give people incentives for the habits of good health. When we offer these incentives, enough people will choose good health to serve as examples to others. We can do better with health incentives and preventive medicine. The only question is when?

Russell Jaffe, MD PhD, Biography

Dr. Jaffe received his MD degree from the Boston University School of Medicine in 1972. He completed his residency training in Clinical Pathology at the National Institutes of Health, where he was on the permanent staff as a practicing molecular biologist and molecular pathologist. In addition, he has studied extensively in the area of nutrition. He was asked by Norm Shealey to be the founding chairman of the Scientific Committee of the American Holistic Medical Association. He was the first Course Director of "Oriental Medical Strategies in Western Medical Practice." This was the first program recognized by N Y State for licensure certification based on being a diplomate of this training program. Most graduates of this program are now instructors in Oriental Medicine and Acupuncture training programs throughout the world. In 1984, Dr. Jaffe developed the lymphocyte response assays (LRA) by ELISA/ACT tests. These tests enable physicians to examine the responses of patients' immune systems to challenges. Delayed allergy for up to 436 common substances can be ruled in or ruled out in terms of delayed hypersensitivity by functional LRA by ELISA/ACT or MELISA tests.

Russell Jaffe MD PHD
Nutrition for Optimal Health Association
P.O. Box 380 Winnetka, IL 60093
http://www.nutrition4health.org/
Phone: 847-60HEALTH
(847-604-3258)

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