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scaeagles · 03-22-2010, 12:38 PM

Not trying to avoid answering the question about specifics that I object to....I just can't research at present.

I think the biggest contributor to health costs is fear on the part of both patients and doctors. That and convenience.

My wife and I battle constantly about when to take our kids to the doctor. My view is that the body is designed, for the most part, to fix itself. You have a 102 fever? 99.99% of the time you'll be fine in a couple days. My wife sees anything over 100.5 as a mandate to go to the doc. I don't get it. It's fear of "what if something is horribly wrong?". There comes a point in time for the doctor, but routine illness is not that point.

When I was a kid, I had brutal allergies. Just aweful. Every spring I would spend two months of agony, and that was just life. Now there are 1400 different allergy medications that require visits to the doc to try to figure out the best one and then the cost of the medication itself. There are so many medications that do indeed offer a possibility for an increased quality of life....but how much of that should be convered by insurance? Is it absolutely vital to the health and well being of my kid that he have his flonase? I'm glad he does, as it spares him discomfort and frustration, but is it really a medical necessity.

I believe doctors fear being sued to a point of such extremism that any and everything must tested for. I have no proof of this except for anecdotal evidence....my 16 year old, around a year ago, had headaches for about 2 weeks straight. Nothing major. Wife took her to the doc. Blood tests and a freakin' cat scan. WTF?????? I said no way to the cat scan, but the wife was so freaked out and the doctor was so insistent that we did it. Completely fine. I suggested getting her eyes checked first, and sure enough, it was because she needed glasses while in school and reading. Cured that right up. I think tort reform doesn't just lower the costs of lawsuits, but lowers the cost related to the fear of lawsuits.

I have so many other things I could type right now but not the time. Sigh. Hopefully later.

03-22-2010, 12:38 PM	#45
scaeagles I LIKE! Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 7,819	Not trying to avoid answering the question about specifics that I object to....I just can't research at present. I think the biggest contributor to health costs is fear on the part of both patients and doctors. That and convenience. My wife and I battle constantly about when to take our kids to the doctor. My view is that the body is designed, for the most part, to fix itself. You have a 102 fever? 99.99% of the time you'll be fine in a couple days. My wife sees anything over 100.5 as a mandate to go to the doc. I don't get it. It's fear of "what if something is horribly wrong?". There comes a point in time for the doctor, but routine illness is not that point. When I was a kid, I had brutal allergies. Just aweful. Every spring I would spend two months of agony, and that was just life. Now there are 1400 different allergy medications that require visits to the doc to try to figure out the best one and then the cost of the medication itself. There are so many medications that do indeed offer a possibility for an increased quality of life....but how much of that should be convered by insurance? Is it absolutely vital to the health and well being of my kid that he have his flonase? I'm glad he does, as it spares him discomfort and frustration, but is it really a medical necessity. I believe doctors fear being sued to a point of such extremism that any and everything must tested for. I have no proof of this except for anecdotal evidence....my 16 year old, around a year ago, had headaches for about 2 weeks straight. Nothing major. Wife took her to the doc. Blood tests and a freakin' cat scan. WTF?????? I said no way to the cat scan, but the wife was so freaked out and the doctor was so insistent that we did it. Completely fine. I suggested getting her eyes checked first, and sure enough, it was because she needed glasses while in school and reading. Cured that right up. I think tort reform doesn't just lower the costs of lawsuits, but lowers the cost related to the fear of lawsuits. I have so many other things I could type right now but not the time. Sigh. Hopefully later.
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