This interesting essay in yesterday's New York Times, my favorite newspaper in the world, offers a very critical and somber take on the ridiculously mediocre state of health care in America from a trio of health experts that largely matches my own.
Far beyond the errors that doctors make or any imaginary plague -- think the avian flu bug that never came -- these doctors believe the biggest threat to your health may be an epidemic of diagnoses, not one of disease.
Not so long ago, we dealt with physical and emotional issues in saner ways but with today's focus on the medicalization of our daily lives, any and every discomfort is an illness that merits a cure, usually in the form of a useless and, often, toxic pill.
A good example: The growing number of outlandish and health-harming reasons to justify prescribing or taking a statin drug.
The optimal way to avoid unnecessary drugs and medical procedures starts with a conscious decision by a patient to take better responsibility for his or her own health, ideally by staying clear of the fatally flawed conventional health care paradigm.
New York Times January 2, 2007 Registration RequiredDeseret News.com January 2, 2006