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Doctors Throw Blows in Delivery Room, Endanger Baby

By On · Add Comment · In c-section, cesarean, delivery room, doctors, fistfight, Italian, medical mistakes, public hospital, Sicily, universal health care

The fight over cesareans has gone international…and violent.  Two Italian doctors are being blamed for the botched delivery of a newborn that have led to complications for both the mother and son, after the doctors got into a fistfight in the delivery room.  Medical mistakes UFC-style.

According to reports, the mother Laura Salpietro, 30, had to have her uterus removed and her son, Antonio, suffered heart problems and possible brain damage following his birth last Thursday in a Messina, Sicily public hospital.  The two doctors, one a state hospital employee, the other a private doctor hired by Salpietro as a gynecologist, disagreed on whether the patient should have a C-section.  The disagreement turned to blows.

Sapietro’s husband, Matteo Molonia, said the fight delayed the C-section by over an hour leading to the complications.  This has become a big story in the country, forcing the Italian health minister to traveled to Sicily on Monday to apologize to the woman.

The fiasco is only one of a number of errors plaguing the southern Italian region infamous for its high rate of medical mistakes.  Not lost on me is one significant detail of the Italian health system.  Yep, you guessed it–universal health care.

As a result of the entitlement-based system is an explosion of private doctors available to people that can afford them.  I have predicted the same to happen here in the U.S. if nationalization of our system continues to grow.  People that can afford it will hire private doctors to get around the inadequacies of government-run hospitals.  Just a conclusion of deductive reasoning, that’s all.

What has made this particular situation tragic is that the patient decided to have her birth in a public hospital with a private doctor present.  Duh!  I guess she learned the hard way that doctors can be territorial, literally and figuratively, and if she has followed common practice she would have given birth at a private clinic instead. 

This story also highlights the dramatically high C-section rates in Italy in general, and Sicily specifically.  According to reports, approximately 38% of all births in Italy are done by C-section, more than twice the 15% recommended by the World Health Organization. In Sicily rates reach 52%.  In other parts of Italy, Campania–the southern mainland region that includes Naples– for instance, C-section rates have reached 60%.

I have said in several posts, this is a major issue.  C-section are way over-prescribed, and experts believe the trend will continue.  Although many reasons for recommending C-section exist, most thinkers agree it is too high.

So keep your wits about you, America.  Don’t ignore the inevitable problems associated with universal health care.  It ain’t the panacea it’s being sold as.  If you can’t see the flip side from our friends in Europe, then you’ve let your blinders fall too far.  My condolences to the Molonia/Salpietra family–I hope it turns out okay.

Insurance Companies Push for Universal Health

By On · Add Comment · In baby boomers, health care reform, individual mandate, insurance companies, private insurers, universal health care

I wrote in my last blog post that insurance companies have a vested interest in universal health care. This might be a surprise to some, since it might not be obvious how private insurers will profit from health care reform. A Los Angeles Times piece hot off the press explains just how–through mandated individual coverage.

“Individual mandate” is the provision private insurers are hoping for; without it, they might as well pack it in, because reforms are sure to destroy the industry. Why else would insurance companies back a plan to restructure the health care system that they’ve fought to block for sixty years plus? The individual mandate would require everyone to buy medical insurance, which insurers hope will be sweetened by taxpayer-funded subsidies for customers who can’t afford it, and enforced with fines.

If the individual mandate provision goes through, then insurers stand to gain millions of customers over night; and it will probably save the sinking ship as the insurance industry has been hurting for some time now. Since 2000, business has waned for private insurers as rising premiums pushed scores of people out of the market. The current recession has only heightened the problem. As baby boomers age, things will get worse: 79 million boomers will turn 65 in 2011 and move away from private insurance coverage to Medicare. And an estimated 170 million people will be making that shift over the next two decades. So, basically, health insurers need this mandate.

The scenario which the private health sector can least afford would be the one where the single-payer plan is adopted. In this scheme the government pays all bills, rendering private insurance obsolete. Clearly, for the health insurance industry, this can’t happen.

So that’s why you are now hearing insurance companies getting into the universal health care act. Playing their cards right can lead to huge profits; but playing the wrong hand can lead to a bust. Just pointing it all out so you understand the economics and politics behind this movement. I’m not against it, as long as the powers that be (or as it will probably turn out, the new powers that be) don’t start messing around with fee schedules. If it prevents waste and crookery and medical mistakes without making hard-working health professionals go belly under, then wonderful; erect the statues today. But I can’t see how all this is going to be funded without taxing the lot of us (bye-bye, small businesses), or slapping health care with mandated lower reimbursements. If it is the latter, expect the quality of health care to suffer big time.

Panacea It’s Not

By On · Add Comment · In aging, health, healthy behaviors, social class differences, universal health care
Read what Carolyn Aldwin, Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at Oregon State University has to say about health and aging and pay very close attention:

“It is also interesting that social class differences in morbidity and mortality* exist in every country in the world, even those, like Britain, that have universal health care. Although this relationship is partially mediated through factors such as health behavior habits, perhaps social class differences in neonatal health may have life-long effects (emphasis mine).”

Maybe, good doctor…but more likely, as you’ve said, through lifestyle choices. So I again reiterate: Healthy behaviors are the primary factors involved in reducing risk to the development of ill health, disease and premature death. Period.

And a little more information for all you universal health care groupies, Dr. Aldwin says:

“Baby Boomers will also demand more services and better quality ones. I am eagerly awaiting the first sit-down strike or takeover of the administration in a nursing home! (emphasis mine)”

Yeah, just what we’ll get with universal health care “more and better services.” You probably won’t have to wait long for that strike, sister.

*Morbidity and mortality = Illness and death

People Spend Where They Value

By On · Add Comment · In health care costs, universal health care

What do you like to spend your money on? Movies? Clothes? Your hair? Beer? Although at times money may be tight–we always seem to find the dough for what we need. Did you know I used to smoke cigarettes? There were times I was dirt poor, not a piece of bread in my cupboard; but I always had smokes…always.

That’s why I scoff at reports which state that people hold back from health care because of cost. A recent survey claims that 20% of Americans delayed or postponed medical care, mostly doctor visits, because of cost. These surveys are used as fodder for ideologues trying to push an agenda. So of course this latest Thomson Reuters poll, and the many number of polls like it, are simply ammo for the solely political issue of universal health care that is being pushed onto us now.

You know as well as I do that these same people holding off on medical care for financial reasons are going to the movies, roasting at Coachella, drinking at the pub, getting their $750 Jonathin Antin haircuts, and so forth; and they are spending their money for those things because they value them–that is, they get something for their money. Health care often is of subtle value, especially if there is no immediate problem. So, yeah, people will forgo those routine physicals, where you go through the discomfort of a digital probe simply to be told, “Rectum of a twenty-year-old,” because, well, they seem pointless.

I believe this happens because, as I said, health care often has subtle benefits. Unlike an auto problem, for which most people will fork out the cash, no questions asked, opting out of a routine office visit at the doctors won’t strand you on the side of the road.

Now, obviously, neglecting health in this way is foolish. That’s true whether we are talking about passing on a chiropractic wellness visit, a gym membership, or dietary supplements, simply because you gotta stretch the dough and the health regimen just doesn’t fit in this month (and you’ve got to budget as you’re seeing Jonathan next week). It just comes down to what you value.

I’m not judging peoples’ values here; we value what we value. But I don’t care for this political sleight of hand–using ambiguous data to support an agenda. Yes, the recent data collected in the Thomson Reuters poll is ambiguous. Without knowing where else these same people are spending their money, we can’t make any serious conclusions about the prohibitive costs of health care.

Sound Health Policy

By On · Add Comment · In children, diabetes, health, India, universal health care, yoga
India’s health minister has an answer to universal health care–it’s called universal yoga. That’s right, the top-dog in the Indian health policy wants all schoolchildren to practice real health care. He wants them doing asanas. Nice. And the rational is that yoga helps prevent conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. Now that’s progressive.

Anbumani Ramadoss, the current Indian health minister, said he would make yoga mandatory for all school-going children, “There should be extensive scientific deliberations on yoga,” he said, “And today I blatantly put that yoga reduces diabetes, yoga reduces hypertension, yoga reduces stress.” True, true, but not all parties agree. The Muslim Malaysian Council or Malaysia’s National Fatwa Council, has sparked protests claiming yoga will steer people away from the religion, causing them to use Hindu prayers, which are considered blasphemous. As a result, the council has put out an edict (fatwa) against practicing yoga. The council also outlaws “gay sex” and women wearing trousers. Holy moly…how primitive.

Well, the religious controversy aside, I think this is one good policy. I’m usually against mandates, but if you’re going to have one, make it yogic. The Indian government could probably do just as well by making it a part of the school curriculum. This will help in a country where diabetes rates are highest in the world–41 million cases in 2007 and counting, and estimates hitting 70 million by 2025, according to the International Diabetes Federation.

Ah, the perils of modernization. Sometimes it’s good to get back to one’s roots–especially when those roots are so good for the body, mind and spirit. Maybe we can take a page out of that health book here in the U.S., and add that to our promised universal health care plan. At least the addition of state supported yoga might actually make a difference.

*Want to know how to do some basic asanas (yoga postures)? Check out this great yoga site here.

Medical Shortage

By On · Add Comment · In insurance companies, medical costs, medical doctors, medicine, primary care physicians, universal health care

Looks like medical doctors don’t care for this federal health care stuff. According to a recent survey, many primary care physicians plan to quit or drastically cut down their hours seeing patients because they are feeling “overworked.” 7,200 physicians surveyed said they would NOT recommend medicine as a career. Wow! Neither would I.

The doctors surveyed stated that they’re simply bogged down by paperwork; and this paper-pushing leads them to give less time to patients. For any doctor who is in the game to help people, I can attest, this is a frustrating situation. And it isn’t going to get any better with a universal health system, that’s for sure.

The paperwork attached to the federal health programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and other federal and state insurance plans is oppressive. Yes, yes, yes, there is some fraud going on, and the government doesn’t like being cheated. But the strain caused by the paper-pushing rigmarole is just too much. Geez. The feds think it curbs costs, but in fact, it reduces quality of care. And worse yet, our skilled and hard-working primary care physicians are ready to walk away. The only worthwhile career in medicine today is in specialization–surgeons, oncologists, anesthesiologists, and the like. Who wants to see 100 people in a day, and then stay in the office all night doing paperwork? Sure makes research sound good.

I have to sympathize with the doctors here. I understand why all this paperwork craziness is happening. Medical costs are spiraling out of control, and part of the problem is fraudulent billing–from doctors and hospitals. Understandably, insurance companies don’t want to pay for anything that hasn’t actually taken place–you know, double paying for surgeries, paying for patients who weren’t really in the hospital, and so on. But to overburden doctors with safeguards, in the form of government forms, and so much that patients end up losing quality of medical care just doesn’t make sense. Insurance companies just have too much damn power, and it’s time they stop being placed on the top of the priority list. Let them police their own damn suspicions, and if they catch a fraudulent doctor or hospital–then great, throw the book at them. But to have the support of the federal government in this documentation madness is just that–mad!

Health Care Crisis Solution

By On · Add Comment · In Hawaii, health care, health insurance, Medicaid, The Six Keys to Optimal Health, universal child health care, universal health care

Well, you know what they say, “As Hawaii goes, so does the nation.” OK, nobody really says that. And good thing, too; because judging by what’s just happened in Hawaii with their universal child care program, following suit could be disastrous for American health care.

According to recent reports, Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care system in the country just seven months after it launched. You don’t say…I wonder why. Apparently the program was set up for families who couldn’t afford their own private health insurance; however, many families began dropping their private health insurance to get the freebie. No kidding. Wow, why would they do that? Essentially, the program became unaffordable. Duh.

In another unrelated report, government officials have declared spending on the Medicaid health program for the poor as “unsustainable.” Medicaid benefits will increase by 7.9% per year over the next decade, costing $674 billion by 2017. Woowee! That’s a lot of dough. The program is inflating at a higher rate than the Medicare program for the elderly and disabled. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said in a statement, “This report should serve as an urgent reminder that the current path of Medicaid spending is unsustainable for both federal and state governments.”

Yeah. Well, I can’t see a proposed national universal health care plan being any different. For a country as large and addicted to medical care as the good ol’ U.S. of A, the price tag for such a program will be astronomical. Good campaign slogan, poor idea overall. Listen, I’ve got nothing against helping people who can’t afford this and that, but the problem in health care isn’t that people have no access to it–people have access, it’s called Medicaid (50 million cardholders and counting)–it’s that people in this country have become overly reliant on medical care.

This concept is a major premise of my book, The Six Keys To Optimal Health. People have simply neglected their health for years. We are one of the most unhealthy industrialuzed countries on the planet. Why? Because people don’t have access to medical care? BS! Walk into any big city ER on a Saturday night. I did it three weeks ago when my daughter was being born, it was packed–packed!–with low income citizens. Go ahead, walk into Cedar Sinai in Beverly Hills on a Saturday night; you’ll see the truth. People have access to care. The bottom line is that the average American takes very little care of their health. THAT’S WHY WE ARE HAVING A HEALTH CARE CRISIS! Not because we don’t have universal health care. It doesn’t matter if we do get this type of system; until people make a conscious effort to change their lifestyles into one of movement, wholesome eating, regular bodywork, proper sleep, mental balnce and conditioning, and toxin avoidance, HEALTH CARE COST WILL CONTINUE TO SOAR!

The only thing we are going to get with a universal health care system is more cost for the taxpayer, to pay for the health care of the people down the street who continue to neglect their health. Mark my words.

Political Correctness and Health

By On · Add Comment · In education, health, health care, income, poverty, socioeconomic status, universal health care

I try. I really do. But sometimes I just can’t help it. As much as I want to leave the political stuff to political writers, every once in a while I’ve got to speak up. According to findings of a new study, education levels and socioeconomic status have important yet different effects on health.

According to the study, a person’s education level independently (when adjusted for income) determined a person’s likelihood of becoming ill or disabled. OK, no problem there. We know that the more educated a person is, the more likely he or she will know which behaviors are health enhancing and which are detrimental. Further, more education leads to a better understanding of various and alternative therapies, thus leading to a greater probability of self-empowerment when it comes to one’s health.

Socioeconomic status, on the other hand, determined how a person’s illness would progress. Whether an illness became chronic and how likely a person was to die during the study also depended on one’s income level. For instance, ill or disabled people with annual incomes below $10,000 were three times more likely of their illness progressing than people earning $30,000 or more per year. Also no surprises here, as lower income individuals are less likely to seek out or afford quality health care.

However, here is what I take exception to: According to Dr. Pamela Herd of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the study’s lead author, the findings are “really about the way that poverty has negative ramifications for health,” noting that poor people may live in worse housing, have a more difficult time obtaining healthy foods, and have a tougher time getting health care. And poverty can increase stress levels, she adds, which in itself can worsen health.

Uh, and how about the other factor? Like how being financially stable, let alone wealthy, requires focus, discipline, and plenty of blood, sweat, and tears. All the same things needed to achieve and maintain good health. It also requires being proactive and empowering oneself in many areas including education, finance, professional life, social life, family life, and spiritual life. How about that?

I know that’s not the PC thing to say. Oh no, it’s much more correct to say that being “stuck” in poverty is a form of victimization; poor people being at the mercy of circumstance, of which they have very little, if any, control at all. Moreover, for one to pull oneself out of poverty, or at least survive, is highly dependent on social and governmental change. I guess this means socialized…oops, I mean universal health care. Says Dr. Herd, “We already know what people need to do to be healthier. What we talk about a lot less is what kind of structural changes need to be made for people’s health to improve.”

What a bunch of baloney. No doubt, education and economic levels enormously influence health. But I hardly think it’s because people don’t have medical care at their fingertips. Hell, in a lot of ways, those that don’t are the lucky ones; at least they can investigate other options. More likely, those people who diligently focus on their mental growth, and in turn their financial growth (even if it’s relatively modest), also focus on their physical health (to varying degrees, of course). And, in general, they probably treat their health with the same care and discipline that they approach other aspects of their lives.

There, I’ve said it and I’m sticking by it. This isn’t a belligerent bout of insensitivity at all; no sir. It’s an observation that any type of growth requires work–hard work–as well as focus, discipline, and a burning desire for evolution, despite one’s obstacles (we’ve all got obstacles, and money is simply one of the many in existence). Achieving and maintaining great health also requires these same things. And the power is in the individual. Everything else is just a cop out.

Copyright © 2013 Dr. Nick Campos - All Rights Reserved.