You Win Worst Place...

It has been a while since I had a lot to say, or rather a lot of time to write it down, but I could not resist this headline. U.S. scores dead last again in healthcare study. I mean really, how could I, the anti-science brigade, not take a pause and reflect on this illuminating missive?

So we get dead last? Not even a consolation prize. All those doctor's and nurses telling me that I am risking my life, my children's lives and all my other loved ones because I did not vaccinate against swine flu... could they have been wrong?

NEVER

NOT HERE, This is AMERICA, Home of the Brave and Medically incompetent.

Did you know that more accidental deaths in hospitals occur in July, more than any other month? The explanation is that many doctors go on vacation and that residencies for new, unexperienced, doctors begin. You are more likely to die at a hospital in July... I feel warm and fuzzy now.

And we are not really talking about the universal healthcare issue, although the survey does touch on this topic. The report goes on to say that even though we have the worst medical care we also pay the most. Thats right, we pay the most, Americans pay almost double than that of the other countries represented in the study. We also have the lowest quality and coverage. The survey takes quality, availability of care, accidents, wrong diagnosis, mistakes and other issues into consideration as well.

I personally believe that this can be seen most clearly in our countries obstetrics practice. New Jersey has a caesarian rate of about 50%. That is right, our bodies are so malformed and diseased that we need to create another orifice to pass our children through 50 percent of the time. One of the tools that is used to monitor women and babies during birth is called a heart rate monitor. This device is strapped to the mother and is supposed to monitor fetal heart rate. This device, more than any other, is one of the main causes of a caesarian birth - and it has a 60% failure rate.

That means that if I flipped the first coin I found on the sidewalk it would be more accurate. This is a device that is used to determine if you infant child is in danger and it is WRONG 60% of the time.

The Flu vaccine is another big one. Recommended for a "Most Useless Vaccine" award it is ineffective more than 85% of the time. The number the CDC uses to generate expected flu deaths include other illnesses including pneumonia. Canada had a total of 35 confirmed pediatric flu deaths during the swine flu outbreak and by contrast the United States had over 500 unconfirmed pediatric deaths... and that is still a far cry from the expected number of deaths projected at the outset. They are now incinerating tons of vaccines which have expired. That is right - OUR TAXES - are going up in smoke. It is like the old adage that the lawyers always win. Well these days the pharmaceutical companies seem to win.

Right now a leukemia drug, Mylotarg, is being taken off the market. After market studies showed that if you took the drug you had an increased chance of dying. This was one of those fast tracked drugs - like the swine flu vaccine - that was only tested on about 180 people before it was released for sale. Considering the rate at some side effects occur it is negligent to assume that they would even surface in such a small study.

I get it, medicine can do amazing things! I understand that there was a time in our recent history that some easily treated diseases could kill, that antibiotics saved millions of lives, and that some vaccines have also helped millions remain healthy. What I have a problem with is the idea that you cannot argue facts with medical studies. Your doctor does not even know proper nutrition! IT IS NOT A REQUIRED STUDY. They can prescribe medication, spot and treat illness and recommend a cure... but they do not have to understand that drinking a 2 liter bottle of soda everyday is what caused your diabetes.

"Modern medicine is a tradition, not a science." A friend told me. And remember folks, there was a time when doctors refused to wash their hands, denying it was possible that they were spreading germs and disease. There was a time when doctors used leaches and bleeding to cure ailments and beat people to cure mental illness.

They can be wrong.