Despite what the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare says, the health of Australians is getting worse.
You know that because the medical budget continues to escalate at more than 10% a year.
The Commonwealth Government is allocating nearly 20% of its budget to protect the medical industry. The States are spending around 25%. That's why there's no money for infrastructure and people have to pay to drive on roads they pay for every time they fill up their tanks. It's time people woke up to the fact that you can't have a free run into the hospital and a free ride on a tollway.
Meanwhile surgeries are pack to the rafters with people who are either given poor advice and keep coming back or people who are given good advice and keep coming back.
Spare a though for the good clients of poor doctors. They take their (junk) medicine in good faith. Their condition worsens. They keep coming back.
Spare a though for the doctors with poor customers who don't take their doctor's advice and keep coming back.
If doctors refused to write junk medical prescriptions for people suffering from personally-induced metabolic, musculo-skeletal and psychological dysfunctions and told customers who don't listen to them, 'I can't help you, you have to help yourself', then maybe we'd start to take more notice of them.
But they don't.
On the track
Out with the boys for the thrice-weekly walk/run.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and help yourself to stay in exceptionally good nick.
John Miller
www.millerhealth.com.au
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
www.crookback.com.au
Showing posts with label junk medicine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label junk medicine. Show all posts
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
DOCTOR'S ADVICE Monday 26TH April 2010
There are 4 types of customers going to doctors’ surgeries.
1. The fit and healthy, those who take the doctor’s advice, do the things they need to do to stimulate their own body’s recuperative power and get better. The doctor rarely sees them.
2. The sick, those who regardless of what they do for themselves and what their doctor does for them don’t get better. There’s probably not of lot of these people, but things strike out of the blue, the cards fall the wrong way …
3. The lazy, those who don’t take their doctor’s advice to move heaven and earth to get themselves back in better shape. If you wander around shopping centres you’ll see them in the droves. People just not in great shape, and yet they still keep going to their doctor. It amuses me that doctors continue to keep them on the books.
This is the group on whom good doctors could have the most influence, particularly by withdrawing their services. The logic goes like this, ‘If you choose to ignore my advice to do the things that will restore poor health to good health, you can take your business elsewhere.
4. The gullible, those who get the wrong advice from their doctor – just take the pill to mask the symptoms and plough on. Their condition gradually gets worse.
Surgeries are full to overflowing of the 3rd and 4th groups of people.
Weeding out poor doctoring appears to be a tough assignment. On a grand scale a few get caught, as in the Dr Death and the Dr Vagina fiasco’s; but not many. There are few doctors or customers who are inclined to dob in bad doctors. It’s too much bother.
Last time I did it the Medical Board gave me the brush off. They stuck up for the doctor.
10 or so years of pre-service education and hours and hours of in-service education (paid for by the government and the drug companies) each year don’t seem to be contributing to the growth of fitter and healthier people. On the contrary. It’s the wrong model. Drug companies appear to have a grip on the medical profession that beggers belief.
That’s how it works in all other businesses. Why waste time tying to patch up people who won’t take responsibility for their own health?
The other co-conspirator in the poor health epidemic is the welfare system that keeps paying for people to attend surgeries and pharmacies.
And a welfare system it is, just another version of sit down money. If we’ve got work for the dole welfare we should have exercise for health welfare. No exercise, no welfare to supply you with cheap medication and visits to the surgery.
Don’t for a moment believe that Medicare has much to do with health, most of the payments are welfare payments, many to people who can afford to pay for the maintenance of their own body. And keep in mind, most of this maintenance doesn’t cost anything, just a bit of time.
It was a system designed to cover the medical expenses of those who couldn’t afford to pay for them themselves, those who’d been struck by an illness than came from out of the blue. It was not a system designed to provide everyone with cheap medical care for tens of years.
On the track
Out early with the boy, walked, shuffled and jogged.
In the meantime stay tuned and do whet ever it takes to keep yourself out of the surgery.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.con
1. The fit and healthy, those who take the doctor’s advice, do the things they need to do to stimulate their own body’s recuperative power and get better. The doctor rarely sees them.
2. The sick, those who regardless of what they do for themselves and what their doctor does for them don’t get better. There’s probably not of lot of these people, but things strike out of the blue, the cards fall the wrong way …
3. The lazy, those who don’t take their doctor’s advice to move heaven and earth to get themselves back in better shape. If you wander around shopping centres you’ll see them in the droves. People just not in great shape, and yet they still keep going to their doctor. It amuses me that doctors continue to keep them on the books.
This is the group on whom good doctors could have the most influence, particularly by withdrawing their services. The logic goes like this, ‘If you choose to ignore my advice to do the things that will restore poor health to good health, you can take your business elsewhere.
4. The gullible, those who get the wrong advice from their doctor – just take the pill to mask the symptoms and plough on. Their condition gradually gets worse.
Surgeries are full to overflowing of the 3rd and 4th groups of people.
Weeding out poor doctoring appears to be a tough assignment. On a grand scale a few get caught, as in the Dr Death and the Dr Vagina fiasco’s; but not many. There are few doctors or customers who are inclined to dob in bad doctors. It’s too much bother.
Last time I did it the Medical Board gave me the brush off. They stuck up for the doctor.
10 or so years of pre-service education and hours and hours of in-service education (paid for by the government and the drug companies) each year don’t seem to be contributing to the growth of fitter and healthier people. On the contrary. It’s the wrong model. Drug companies appear to have a grip on the medical profession that beggers belief.
That’s how it works in all other businesses. Why waste time tying to patch up people who won’t take responsibility for their own health?
The other co-conspirator in the poor health epidemic is the welfare system that keeps paying for people to attend surgeries and pharmacies.
And a welfare system it is, just another version of sit down money. If we’ve got work for the dole welfare we should have exercise for health welfare. No exercise, no welfare to supply you with cheap medication and visits to the surgery.
Don’t for a moment believe that Medicare has much to do with health, most of the payments are welfare payments, many to people who can afford to pay for the maintenance of their own body. And keep in mind, most of this maintenance doesn’t cost anything, just a bit of time.
It was a system designed to cover the medical expenses of those who couldn’t afford to pay for them themselves, those who’d been struck by an illness than came from out of the blue. It was not a system designed to provide everyone with cheap medical care for tens of years.
On the track
Out early with the boy, walked, shuffled and jogged.
In the meantime stay tuned and do whet ever it takes to keep yourself out of the surgery.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.con
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
JUNK MEDICINE Monday 29th March 2010
We've got this huge debate about the funding of hospital care.
It's generally the case that the cause of the problem is not at the site of the problem.
In this case, the protection of the grass roots branch of the medical industry has created a demand for public money that is insatiable. If they were doing a half decent job hospitals would be empty.
It is poor general practice that has people end up in the hospital. If you give people drugs to mask symptoms, eventually the underlying condition gets so bad people need surgery.
You definitely don't need more doctors in this country.
Nurses can do 20% of the work
Fitness practitioners can do 20% or more of the work
Counsellors can do 20% of the work
Naturopaths can do another 20% of the work.
Encouraging people to go to the doctor as the first point of primary care is just plain nonsense. It's an outdated, expensive and ineffective practice. It is not best care. It's like sending people to David Jones when all they want is a bag of chips.
The GP primary care monopoly is not working. The effect is more and more people turning up at hospitals with dysfunctions made worse by the wrong treatment prescribed by general practitioners.
There are many providers of primary care. The current monopoly protection of the Medical industry has downplayed the role these other providers have the primary care of various complaints.
Doctors have abused the privilege of being the first point of primary care. It's an outdated notion.
If you've got a crook back go to you local gym.
If you feel shidouse go to a counsellor - and the gym
If you've got a baby with a sniffle, if you've got the flu and need a certificate, if you need blood drawn for pathology, if you need a jab, a stitch or a bandage, go to a nurse in private practice.
Case in point. The Minister for Health is telling people to go to their doctor for a flu injection. Why is the precious time of doctors being take up by jabbing people in the arm? This is nurses' work.
Pharmacists should be having a greater say in what's prescribed. How stupid is it for doctors to prescribe a drug when they don't know as much about drugs as chemists. Chemists should have a lot more say in the prescription of medicine and the issuing of repeats.
Chemists should be playing a greater role in stamping out doctor shopping for addictive drugs. They stand idly by when they know doctors are mis-prescribing and over-prescribing.
DEMARCATION DISPUTES
The medical industry is holding the community to ransom with demarcation disputes that put those in other industries to shame.
For instance a radiologist can't diagnose the cause of a crook back. That's the doctor's job.
Doctors won't refer people to nurses, fitness practitioners, counsellors or naturopaths.
Doctors won't keep a few basic drugs in the surgery to dole out to their customers.
On the track
Out with the boys for the walk/run.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and go for a run around the block.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
http://www.globalbackcare.com/
It's generally the case that the cause of the problem is not at the site of the problem.
In this case, the protection of the grass roots branch of the medical industry has created a demand for public money that is insatiable. If they were doing a half decent job hospitals would be empty.
It is poor general practice that has people end up in the hospital. If you give people drugs to mask symptoms, eventually the underlying condition gets so bad people need surgery.
You definitely don't need more doctors in this country.
Nurses can do 20% of the work
Fitness practitioners can do 20% or more of the work
Counsellors can do 20% of the work
Naturopaths can do another 20% of the work.
Encouraging people to go to the doctor as the first point of primary care is just plain nonsense. It's an outdated, expensive and ineffective practice. It is not best care. It's like sending people to David Jones when all they want is a bag of chips.
The GP primary care monopoly is not working. The effect is more and more people turning up at hospitals with dysfunctions made worse by the wrong treatment prescribed by general practitioners.
There are many providers of primary care. The current monopoly protection of the Medical industry has downplayed the role these other providers have the primary care of various complaints.
Doctors have abused the privilege of being the first point of primary care. It's an outdated notion.
If you've got a crook back go to you local gym.
If you feel shidouse go to a counsellor - and the gym
If you've got a baby with a sniffle, if you've got the flu and need a certificate, if you need blood drawn for pathology, if you need a jab, a stitch or a bandage, go to a nurse in private practice.
Case in point. The Minister for Health is telling people to go to their doctor for a flu injection. Why is the precious time of doctors being take up by jabbing people in the arm? This is nurses' work.
Pharmacists should be having a greater say in what's prescribed. How stupid is it for doctors to prescribe a drug when they don't know as much about drugs as chemists. Chemists should have a lot more say in the prescription of medicine and the issuing of repeats.
Chemists should be playing a greater role in stamping out doctor shopping for addictive drugs. They stand idly by when they know doctors are mis-prescribing and over-prescribing.
DEMARCATION DISPUTES
The medical industry is holding the community to ransom with demarcation disputes that put those in other industries to shame.
For instance a radiologist can't diagnose the cause of a crook back. That's the doctor's job.
Doctors won't refer people to nurses, fitness practitioners, counsellors or naturopaths.
Doctors won't keep a few basic drugs in the surgery to dole out to their customers.
On the track
Out with the boys for the walk/run.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and go for a run around the block.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
http://www.globalbackcare.com/
Thursday, February 25, 2010
JUNK MEDICINE - Monday 22nd February 2010
The drug companies are still at it, wining and dining doctors and supporting medical charities.
They even start some of these organisations. One of the impotence charities and a smoking cessation charity have been set up by drug companies. This enables them to circumvent advertising legislation. It enables them to medicalize common body system dysfunctions and foibles.
What is happening is the pharmaceutical industry is working hand in glove with sections of the medical industry. Doctors set up medical charities to feed their egos and their researchers in the sheltered workshops for the academically gifted - but all in the guise of helping their customers.
Diabetes institutes would have to be the worst of a bad bunch. Everyone knows that type 2 diabetes comes with lack of exercise and a flour and sugar diet. The treatment, pharmaceutricals
Some of the doctors and researchers get stipends from drug companies to give lectures and seminars to doctors.
It's a great big medical/pharmaceutical cesspit.
Fom the Diuabetes Australia website:
'Diabetes Australia has implemented a national partnerships strategy to advance the national diabetes agenda. National partnerships are established to: increase revenue available for research, enhance relationships with pharmaceutical companies and provide a national focus for corporate organisations, while working with stakeholders to ensure value for all.'
Nothing there about enhancing relationships with the fitness industry.
On the track.
No track today. Achilles too sore.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and steer clear of junk medicine.
John Miller
www.fitndhealthyonline.,com
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and start up a medical charity and get a drug company to sponsor it.
They even start some of these organisations. One of the impotence charities and a smoking cessation charity have been set up by drug companies. This enables them to circumvent advertising legislation. It enables them to medicalize common body system dysfunctions and foibles.
What is happening is the pharmaceutical industry is working hand in glove with sections of the medical industry. Doctors set up medical charities to feed their egos and their researchers in the sheltered workshops for the academically gifted - but all in the guise of helping their customers.
Diabetes institutes would have to be the worst of a bad bunch. Everyone knows that type 2 diabetes comes with lack of exercise and a flour and sugar diet. The treatment, pharmaceutricals
Some of the doctors and researchers get stipends from drug companies to give lectures and seminars to doctors.
It's a great big medical/pharmaceutical cesspit.
Fom the Diuabetes Australia website:
'Diabetes Australia has implemented a national partnerships strategy to advance the national diabetes agenda. National partnerships are established to: increase revenue available for research, enhance relationships with pharmaceutical companies and provide a national focus for corporate organisations, while working with stakeholders to ensure value for all.'
Nothing there about enhancing relationships with the fitness industry.
On the track.
No track today. Achilles too sore.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and steer clear of junk medicine.
John Miller
www.fitndhealthyonline.,com
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and start up a medical charity and get a drug company to sponsor it.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
SIMPLE PATHOLOGY TESTS COMPLICATED - Friday 29th January 2010
I heard a report that doctors were refusing to do simple pathology tests in the surgery, preferring to send them out to the pathology companies.
This is something I know a bit about.
You can now buy a gadget which measures the good and the bad cholesterol, other blood fats and blood sugar levels at the drop of a hat.
Routine tests of this nature are easy to do. The doctor's receptionist, even the drover's dog could do them at the drop of a hat.
Instead the doctor is wasting his or her time doing the menial task of drawing blood, sending it off in a chauffeur-driven car to the pathologist, and then getting the patient to come back to discus the results.
It's another medical rigmarole. No wonder they say they're too busy. They're creating rods for their own back and wasting the time and money of their customers into the bargain.
The doctors say the Medicare rebate get isn't as large as the rebate the pathology companies get. This is all bunkum. There shouldn't be a rebate for these tests lat all because the cost of doing them is so low. The only fee is for the doctor's time (better still receptionist's time and the consumables.
I've done theses tests when doing corporate health assessments. They're dead easy and take no time to do. Less than five minutes, half the time spent talking to your customer while waiting for the machine to spew out the results.
On the track
I stayed up very late last night finishing off the 'Fix Back Pain' book.
You can get a copy of the ebook version at http://www.globalbackcare.com/
Went of a walk with the boys, even took a short cut I was so tired.
There will be better days.
In the mean time stay tuned, highly tuned and admire the way the medical industry has turned into an art form, the business of complicating the simple and making the cheap expensive.
John Miller
This is something I know a bit about.
You can now buy a gadget which measures the good and the bad cholesterol, other blood fats and blood sugar levels at the drop of a hat.
Routine tests of this nature are easy to do. The doctor's receptionist, even the drover's dog could do them at the drop of a hat.
Instead the doctor is wasting his or her time doing the menial task of drawing blood, sending it off in a chauffeur-driven car to the pathologist, and then getting the patient to come back to discus the results.
It's another medical rigmarole. No wonder they say they're too busy. They're creating rods for their own back and wasting the time and money of their customers into the bargain.
The doctors say the Medicare rebate get isn't as large as the rebate the pathology companies get. This is all bunkum. There shouldn't be a rebate for these tests lat all because the cost of doing them is so low. The only fee is for the doctor's time (better still receptionist's time and the consumables.
I've done theses tests when doing corporate health assessments. They're dead easy and take no time to do. Less than five minutes, half the time spent talking to your customer while waiting for the machine to spew out the results.
On the track
I stayed up very late last night finishing off the 'Fix Back Pain' book.
You can get a copy of the ebook version at http://www.globalbackcare.com/
Went of a walk with the boys, even took a short cut I was so tired.
There will be better days.
In the mean time stay tuned, highly tuned and admire the way the medical industry has turned into an art form, the business of complicating the simple and making the cheap expensive.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
Friday, January 22, 2010
DOCTORS NURSE GRUDGE - Health Blogarithm, Monday 18th January 2010
A group of nurses have set up shop in a pharmacy. This is exceptionally good news on several accounts
The doctor organisations around Canberra are bleating that there is a shortage of doctors. Main reason is that they spend half their time doing things that other professionals could do as well, if not better.; like, measuring blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose; taking blood and sending it away for analysis; treating wounds; giving their customers a talking to about their lifestyle; taking pap smears, giving injections; weighing babies and giving pre and post natal advice.
The other reason is that a high proportion of them practice junk medicine. They give their customers a pill to mask the symptom and not the prescription that leads to a restoration of poor function to good. Their customers keep coming back. It's good for business, but they complain how overworked they are.
So when the nurses set up shop guess who has a go at them? You guessed it, the doctors' union. All they're interested in is protecting their incomes, even if a large proportion of it is earned doing jobs that nurses (and drovers' dogs could do.)
Keep in mind, there's a lot of nurses these days who have a degree. We're not talking about wiping bums in hospitals any more. These are professionals in their own right.
So, the best thing the government could do is start handing our provider numbers and Medicare job numbers that ensures that people can get treatment from nurses, with all the same financial arrangements as they currently get from doctors.
Instead of setting up these big doctor clinics they Government should be setting up big nursing clinics.
The more the medical profession has been protected (and medical industry protection is now running at $60B or more a year), the worse the health of Australians has become and the more bloated and inefficient the medical industry.
So all power to the nurses.
The other group that needs a swag of Medicare number is the fitness profession. There's a lot of things they can do better than doctors. Think metabolic and musculo-skeletal dysfunction? Think fitness centre.
On the track
After a vigorous weekend all I did to day was went to a walk with the boys.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and remember, few people got fitter or healthier in a surgery or a pharmacy.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
The doctor organisations around Canberra are bleating that there is a shortage of doctors. Main reason is that they spend half their time doing things that other professionals could do as well, if not better.; like, measuring blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose; taking blood and sending it away for analysis; treating wounds; giving their customers a talking to about their lifestyle; taking pap smears, giving injections; weighing babies and giving pre and post natal advice.
The other reason is that a high proportion of them practice junk medicine. They give their customers a pill to mask the symptom and not the prescription that leads to a restoration of poor function to good. Their customers keep coming back. It's good for business, but they complain how overworked they are.
So when the nurses set up shop guess who has a go at them? You guessed it, the doctors' union. All they're interested in is protecting their incomes, even if a large proportion of it is earned doing jobs that nurses (and drovers' dogs could do.)
Keep in mind, there's a lot of nurses these days who have a degree. We're not talking about wiping bums in hospitals any more. These are professionals in their own right.
So, the best thing the government could do is start handing our provider numbers and Medicare job numbers that ensures that people can get treatment from nurses, with all the same financial arrangements as they currently get from doctors.
Instead of setting up these big doctor clinics they Government should be setting up big nursing clinics.
The more the medical profession has been protected (and medical industry protection is now running at $60B or more a year), the worse the health of Australians has become and the more bloated and inefficient the medical industry.
So all power to the nurses.
The other group that needs a swag of Medicare number is the fitness profession. There's a lot of things they can do better than doctors. Think metabolic and musculo-skeletal dysfunction? Think fitness centre.
On the track
After a vigorous weekend all I did to day was went to a walk with the boys.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and remember, few people got fitter or healthier in a surgery or a pharmacy.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
JUNK MEDICINES AUSTRALIA
Health Blogarithm 29th December 2009
Medicines Australia, the barking dog of the drug industry picked on a slow day in the media calendar to put pressure on the Commonwealth Government to provide more incentives for the industry to bolster its research efforts and export more drugs.
They’re dreaming. They’re a pack of shysters.
This is one of the most protected industries in Australia. The Government forks out $6B a year in subsidies for people prescribed medicines by their doctor.
A high proportion of these drugs are junk medications, designed to mask the symptoms of metabolic, musculo-skeletal and psychological dysfunction and not restore poor function to good.
Whenever a junk medicine is prescribed you know it’s the wrong prescription. The members of Medicines Australia don't give two hoots. They're laughing all the way to the bank – and they want more.
A high proportion of the money the industry receives goes into marketing of these junk medications to doctors, by way of silver-service dinners and junkets.
A high proportion of the research efforts are aimed at producing drugs that are no more efficacious than drugs that have been around for donkey’s years.
Like performing dogs, and masquerading as research institutes, the sheltered workshops for the academically gifted are addicted to the milk and honey that flows from soft-touch drug industry tits, playing the game of mixing government money with drug industry money to do more junk research on more junk drugs.
The research industry plays a pivotal role in supplying the drug industry with credibility in the form of research papers, seminars and professional development activities for the prescribers of those drugs. It’s an industry that turns on government money to perform all manner of back scratching, head patting and brown-nosing activities.
On the trackSpent a cautious 15 minutes on the treadmill, followed up by a 60 minute walk along the beach. Got sunburnt. Should have kept my shirt on.
Achilles holding up well. Spending more time on my back with my legs in the air.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and remember, very few people got fitter or healthier in a chemist’s shop.
John Miller
Medicines Australia, the barking dog of the drug industry picked on a slow day in the media calendar to put pressure on the Commonwealth Government to provide more incentives for the industry to bolster its research efforts and export more drugs.
They’re dreaming. They’re a pack of shysters.
This is one of the most protected industries in Australia. The Government forks out $6B a year in subsidies for people prescribed medicines by their doctor.
A high proportion of these drugs are junk medications, designed to mask the symptoms of metabolic, musculo-skeletal and psychological dysfunction and not restore poor function to good.
Whenever a junk medicine is prescribed you know it’s the wrong prescription. The members of Medicines Australia don't give two hoots. They're laughing all the way to the bank – and they want more.
A high proportion of the money the industry receives goes into marketing of these junk medications to doctors, by way of silver-service dinners and junkets.
A high proportion of the research efforts are aimed at producing drugs that are no more efficacious than drugs that have been around for donkey’s years.
Like performing dogs, and masquerading as research institutes, the sheltered workshops for the academically gifted are addicted to the milk and honey that flows from soft-touch drug industry tits, playing the game of mixing government money with drug industry money to do more junk research on more junk drugs.
The research industry plays a pivotal role in supplying the drug industry with credibility in the form of research papers, seminars and professional development activities for the prescribers of those drugs. It’s an industry that turns on government money to perform all manner of back scratching, head patting and brown-nosing activities.
On the trackSpent a cautious 15 minutes on the treadmill, followed up by a 60 minute walk along the beach. Got sunburnt. Should have kept my shirt on.
Achilles holding up well. Spending more time on my back with my legs in the air.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and remember, very few people got fitter or healthier in a chemist’s shop.
John Miller
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