Comments for sursumcorda.salemsattic.com/post/casting-the-net-vol.-19-heath-and-politics

Comment #852

2009-11-04T12:06:15Z

I apologize, also, for being provocative. Such was not, if you will believe it, my intent. I believe poor medical practices should be exposed no matter what the system, and I also worry about the confluence in modern culture of a diminished respect for the elderly and a diminished desire for children, creating a demographic with a top-heavy needy population and a weakened support base.

Comment #851

2009-11-04T00:49:17Z

Why? Perhaps you were feeling masochistic? If I can trust my traffic monitor (and I often can't), of all the articles, the only one you read in its entirety is the one you were pretty sure would upset you. :)

The problem of rationed care is with us no matter what health care system we espouse. It's the elephant in the room that I've worried about for at least 30 years (off and on, between more pressing life events).

We shouldn't need a boatload of tests, including a CAT scan, to diagnose gout, but neither should we brush off someone's problem with "you're getting older; live with it."

Comment #850

2009-11-03T21:08:34Z

I'm not sure why I finished Steyn's article when it already begins with name-calling, and I already suspected him of fudging terminology with examples to support his thesis. He grossly oversimplifies the new knee case. Yes, the quality adjusted life year enters into the decision - but it is not merely a matter of 2-15 years of pain or no pain. A knee implant, much as we have already gained experience with them, is a risky procedure, especially for patients that might have osteoporosis (which at the implied age is not at all unlikely). The older the patient, the more difficulty the body will have in coping with all the trauma associated with surgery, and looking at the benefits versus the risks is something an honest doctor ought to do.

Also, he doesn't show how the US system is superior, how it offers the impoverished great-grandma a knee replacement with a ribbon on top, which is the least I'm expecting after his laudatio. And giving individual examples does nothing but perhaps counterbalance the individual examples the folks on the other side of the argument are giving.

Regarding "death of old age" in Quebec, I think hospitals will try lots of things to obfuscate the prevalence of nosocomial infections and the danger they pose. They will try regardless of the health care system, because they live on trust and nosocomial infections do very little to bolster that trust.