The Government is getting its marching orders from the Health and Hospitals Commission - comprised almost exclusively of medical industry hacks. Read the report. It's just vapid.
This is what happens when you put the foxes in charge of the hen house.
It's the wrong advice. It's selective.
Every year for the last 35 years, the medical industry has been getting another $2B or so of public money thrown at it - and the health of Australians has got progressively worse.
The medical industry, particularly at the general practitioner level has become a bloated, inefficient, ineffective, expensive, government supported monopoly. (People complain about the protection of the motor industry, but it's nothing compared with that provided to the medical industry.)
For some inexplicable reason, this is one industry the Productivity Commission and the ACCC won't go near.
The billions Rudd is planning to throw at it will end up in the medical and pharmaceutical black hole along with all the money that's preceded it. Waiting lists will continue to blow out because
1. people will become more and more dysfunctional
2. the treatment is free.
Next year we'll have the same debate, mark my words.
Whoever designed the system to give away free medical treatment was a complete dunce. It's a recipe for public bankruptcy. Every time someone complains about how bad the the infrastructure system is in NSW, it's because that State is spending 25% of its budget on medical services. There is no money left for anything else.
Enough is enough.
On the track
No track today. Spent the full day at the AIS running a corporate health program.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and remember, you don't make a bad system better by throwing money at it.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
THE RUDD - ABBOTT MEDICAL DEBATE A FIZZER - Tuesday 23rd of March 2010
The great medical debate today was a complete fizzer.
Rudd just wants to satisfy his ego by pouring more money down the medical industry black hole Well, it's time someone told him that you can't make a bad system better by throwing more money at it.
Abbott, despite being health Minister for 5 years doesn’t have a policy yet. You’ll have to wait until the election. I don't think it's because he's lazy, he’s just not interested. He should be.
I'm yet to be convinced that his Shadow Minister is up to the job. You'd reckon he'd be champing at the bit with new policies, criticizing Rudd and Roxon, baring his teeth on television ... I haven't heard so much as a peep!
Abbott’s a fit man, an iron man. But he doesn't seem to be able to translate his own personal commitment to the fit and healthy way of life into public policy. He couldn’t do it while he was Minister for Health.
Unless I'm wrong, and I hope I am, I think we might just get more of the same while he’s the Leader of the Opposition. If past and present performance is any indication, about all we can expect is a few A4 pages of stuff to paper over the cracks, plus the odd nod and wink to the medical union and the Catholic Hospital crowd. They were all there at the great debate with their ears pinned back and frothing at the mouth. They reckon the honey pot is about to get a lot bigger.
I'm disappointed. I hope I'm wrong.
It’s a terrible shame.
On the track
No track today. Went to the dentist to have two teeth implants.
An hour and a half in the chair, cost $3,850. The woman on the front desk said to come back in a week and have the stitches out - for free. I said, ‘you’re kidding!’
Took a couple of valium-type pills before the operation. Knocked me right out. Didn’t feel a thing.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and if you want a license to print money become a dentist.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
http://www.globalbackcare.com/
Rudd just wants to satisfy his ego by pouring more money down the medical industry black hole Well, it's time someone told him that you can't make a bad system better by throwing more money at it.
Abbott, despite being health Minister for 5 years doesn’t have a policy yet. You’ll have to wait until the election. I don't think it's because he's lazy, he’s just not interested. He should be.
I'm yet to be convinced that his Shadow Minister is up to the job. You'd reckon he'd be champing at the bit with new policies, criticizing Rudd and Roxon, baring his teeth on television ... I haven't heard so much as a peep!
Abbott’s a fit man, an iron man. But he doesn't seem to be able to translate his own personal commitment to the fit and healthy way of life into public policy. He couldn’t do it while he was Minister for Health.
Unless I'm wrong, and I hope I am, I think we might just get more of the same while he’s the Leader of the Opposition. If past and present performance is any indication, about all we can expect is a few A4 pages of stuff to paper over the cracks, plus the odd nod and wink to the medical union and the Catholic Hospital crowd. They were all there at the great debate with their ears pinned back and frothing at the mouth. They reckon the honey pot is about to get a lot bigger.
I'm disappointed. I hope I'm wrong.
It’s a terrible shame.
On the track
No track today. Went to the dentist to have two teeth implants.
An hour and a half in the chair, cost $3,850. The woman on the front desk said to come back in a week and have the stitches out - for free. I said, ‘you’re kidding!’
Took a couple of valium-type pills before the operation. Knocked me right out. Didn’t feel a thing.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and if you want a license to print money become a dentist.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
http://www.globalbackcare.com/
GREEDY MEDICAL INDUSTRY - Monday 22nd March 2010
Since 1975 the medical industry has increasingly firmed its grasp on the short hairs of Australian governments.
It's currently pulling those hairs with greater and greater force using hospital waiting lists as its main weapon. More billions poured down the medical industry black hole over the last few years haven't made an iota of difference to the health of the community, or to hospital waiting lists, only in the bank balances of doctors and specialists. More and more people are flooding into the surgery and pharmacy. They’ve become very lucrative businesses - mainly at public expense.
It’s a poor investment on the part of the governments of Australia, very poor.
With every hospital bed that gets created, there will be more and more people to fill it. There will never be enough beds to cater for the demand of a population that it's becoming increasingly unhealthy. Enough is enough. Clear the slate. Start again.
What is currently happening is the medical industry is gearing itself up for more protection. The protection is currently valued at around $80B a year by the Commonwealth and the states - and goodness knows how many billions from the premiums people pay to private medical insurance companies and out of their brown pockets.
The medical industry has an insatiable appetite for public money and the service is getting worse. The customers are dropping like flies. It can't go on. We've reached a watershed.
Rudd does not recognise this. He's bringing out yet another Medicare 1975 Bandaid for a problem that needs radical surgery.
Let’s wait and see whether Abbott can pull something out of the hat and suggest something total radical to improve the health, fitness and wellbeing of Australians.
On the track
Went to the Stromlo track. Ran 5Km in 29.57. Pretty pleased with that after a long layoff while they repaired the track.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and every time you hear the Prime Minister and his shadow talking about health, keep in mind that what they’re really talking about is increasing the level of protection of the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
http://www.globalbackcare.com/
It's currently pulling those hairs with greater and greater force using hospital waiting lists as its main weapon. More billions poured down the medical industry black hole over the last few years haven't made an iota of difference to the health of the community, or to hospital waiting lists, only in the bank balances of doctors and specialists. More and more people are flooding into the surgery and pharmacy. They’ve become very lucrative businesses - mainly at public expense.
It’s a poor investment on the part of the governments of Australia, very poor.
With every hospital bed that gets created, there will be more and more people to fill it. There will never be enough beds to cater for the demand of a population that it's becoming increasingly unhealthy. Enough is enough. Clear the slate. Start again.
What is currently happening is the medical industry is gearing itself up for more protection. The protection is currently valued at around $80B a year by the Commonwealth and the states - and goodness knows how many billions from the premiums people pay to private medical insurance companies and out of their brown pockets.
The medical industry has an insatiable appetite for public money and the service is getting worse. The customers are dropping like flies. It can't go on. We've reached a watershed.
Rudd does not recognise this. He's bringing out yet another Medicare 1975 Bandaid for a problem that needs radical surgery.
Let’s wait and see whether Abbott can pull something out of the hat and suggest something total radical to improve the health, fitness and wellbeing of Australians.
On the track
Went to the Stromlo track. Ran 5Km in 29.57. Pretty pleased with that after a long layoff while they repaired the track.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and every time you hear the Prime Minister and his shadow talking about health, keep in mind that what they’re really talking about is increasing the level of protection of the medical and pharmaceutical industries.
John Miller
http://www.fitandhealthyonline.com/
http://www.globalbackcare.com/
DON'T MENTION THE 'F' WORD - Sunday 21st March 2010
As Rudd and Abbott tune themselves up for the great health debate, I can lay you London to a brick neither of them will mention the F word.
I’m talking, of course about fitness.
Whilst fitness would have to be just about the most important factor in the maintenance of good metabolic and musculo-skeletal health (and is implicated in good psychological health), the chances of it being measured in a surgery or a hospital are quite remote. The chances of it being improved in a surgery or pharmacy is even more remote.
When less the 10% of people have a half decent aerobic fitness training program you’d reckon aerobic fitness would be one of the first things your doctor would measure when you dropped by.
And when only 5% of people have a half decent strength and flexibility training program you’d reckon that anyone presenting with a crook back would find themselves on the floor before you could say ‘Bob’s your uncle’ demonstrating how strong and flexible they were.
Well, it doesn’t happen does it? And because it doesn’t, people frequently go away with the wrong prescription. If a lack of exercise is the problem, then more exercise is likely to be the solution.
Should fitness be measured in the surgery? I think so. If it’s commonplace to stand on the scales of justice, get your blood pressure taken, have blood drawn for a pathology sample and, in the case of a crook back, be sent to the radiologist for an X-ray, then why wouldn’t you expect a fitness assessment of some sort?
But having said all that, measuring how fit you are is just another one of the things you can do for yourself.
To measure how aerobically fit you are mark out two lines 20m apart, then see how many laps you can complete in 5 minutes. Men who can do 40 laps and women who can do 36 are not in bad shape. If you can’t reach those standards then there is a high likelihood that you’re metabolically challenged.
You can enhance your metabolic status with an aerobic training program.
In the beginning was the amble, then the amble became a walk and the walk became a shuffle, the shuffle became a jog and the jog became a run; or you might connect with the swimming pool, the bike or the cross-trainer.
To measure how strong you are see how many situps, pressups (men on the toes and women on the front of the thighs) and squats you can do in 30 seconds. If you can do 20 of each, you’re not in bad nick.
If you want to get stronger do these exercises regularly or go to the gym and lift weights.
As for flexibility, see if you can see if you can touch your toes and sit up straight.
If you want a posture, strength and flexibility assessment go to www.globalbackcare.com.
If you want to become more flexible join a yoga or Body Balance class.
You ask, ‘does age have anything to do with this?’ Well, yes it does. The older you are the longer you’ve had time to train! You’ll be able to give these standards a good shake well into your 60’s.
On the track
Spent a lazy 30 minutes on the stepper at level 6.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and hope that Tony Abbott will recharge the medical debate by starting a fitness revolution.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
I’m talking, of course about fitness.
Whilst fitness would have to be just about the most important factor in the maintenance of good metabolic and musculo-skeletal health (and is implicated in good psychological health), the chances of it being measured in a surgery or a hospital are quite remote. The chances of it being improved in a surgery or pharmacy is even more remote.
When less the 10% of people have a half decent aerobic fitness training program you’d reckon aerobic fitness would be one of the first things your doctor would measure when you dropped by.
And when only 5% of people have a half decent strength and flexibility training program you’d reckon that anyone presenting with a crook back would find themselves on the floor before you could say ‘Bob’s your uncle’ demonstrating how strong and flexible they were.
Well, it doesn’t happen does it? And because it doesn’t, people frequently go away with the wrong prescription. If a lack of exercise is the problem, then more exercise is likely to be the solution.
Should fitness be measured in the surgery? I think so. If it’s commonplace to stand on the scales of justice, get your blood pressure taken, have blood drawn for a pathology sample and, in the case of a crook back, be sent to the radiologist for an X-ray, then why wouldn’t you expect a fitness assessment of some sort?
But having said all that, measuring how fit you are is just another one of the things you can do for yourself.
To measure how aerobically fit you are mark out two lines 20m apart, then see how many laps you can complete in 5 minutes. Men who can do 40 laps and women who can do 36 are not in bad shape. If you can’t reach those standards then there is a high likelihood that you’re metabolically challenged.
You can enhance your metabolic status with an aerobic training program.
In the beginning was the amble, then the amble became a walk and the walk became a shuffle, the shuffle became a jog and the jog became a run; or you might connect with the swimming pool, the bike or the cross-trainer.
To measure how strong you are see how many situps, pressups (men on the toes and women on the front of the thighs) and squats you can do in 30 seconds. If you can do 20 of each, you’re not in bad nick.
If you want to get stronger do these exercises regularly or go to the gym and lift weights.
As for flexibility, see if you can see if you can touch your toes and sit up straight.
If you want a posture, strength and flexibility assessment go to www.globalbackcare.com.
If you want to become more flexible join a yoga or Body Balance class.
You ask, ‘does age have anything to do with this?’ Well, yes it does. The older you are the longer you’ve had time to train! You’ll be able to give these standards a good shake well into your 60’s.
On the track
Spent a lazy 30 minutes on the stepper at level 6.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and hope that Tony Abbott will recharge the medical debate by starting a fitness revolution.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
MEDICARE 2010 - Saturday 20th March 2010
Tony Abbott is gearing up to debate Rudd on medical care.
You can be pretty certain the debate won’t be about health it will be about Rudd wanting to take great control of the medical system to inflate his own ego - using GST money to do it.
I’ve written to Abbott saying he has two choices:
1. to reshape the health system for the next 40 years by establishing Medicare version 2010, or
2. prop up a creaking Medicare 1975 with a version 35 that's only slightly different from
Rudd’s version and which still costs taxpayer more money than Medicare 1975, version 34.
The great tragedy is that for the last 35 years the medical industry has diverted the attention of governments from 'health' to 'medicine'. As soon as you put doctors and economists in charge of a health system this is where the money goes.
Doctor visits have gone from 4 a year to 12 a year. Just how hopeless is the medical advice that stimulates more and more visits. If it was effective people would be becoming healthier and visiting the doctor less.
The percentage of GDP spent on medical services has doubled.
Government expenditure on medical welfare is now around $80B a year.
This medico-centric view of the world has overseen the most dramatic decline in community health in the history of this country.
Kevin Rudd will not talk about 'health'. He'll talk about 'medicine', in particular Medicare 1975, version 35 and the further protection of the medical industry. All he wants to do is pour more money into hospitals, thinking that will make everything better, solve all health problems.
It won't. It's more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. Next year the medical begging bowls will be out again for another couple of Billion.
Rudd wants the Commonwealth to have a larger role in hospitals just to satisfy his own ego. Then, if it's like the other projects of this Government, they'll stuff it up. Who are these people thinking they can run hospitals better than anyone else, any better than they can run the ceiling insulation and school building programs?
The fact that Medicare 1975, version 1 was well intentioned didn't make it a good program. It was hastily conceived and poorly thought out. Whoever thought of attaching a welfare system to a medical system was a complete dill.
The delivery was dreadful. July 1st 1975 was the starting date for the greatest decline in the health of the Australian community since the landing of the First Fleet. And as the standard of health went down, medical expenditure increased - exponentially. It was the wrong model.
Rudd will make a poor system worse by throwing more money at it.
I told Abbott he’s got a once in a lifetime chance to build a new and better system.
I told him this was the big one - that he had a chance to bring about a revival of community health, fitness and wellbeing and save the Commonwealth and the States from going bankrupt.
I said the goal is to lower medical expenditure by giving people the opportunity and the incentive to improve their level of health and fitness.
By focusing on people becoming fit and healthy, the hospitals will look after themselves.
On the track
30 minutes on the stepper for 510 steps and 390 calories.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and from now on, every time you hear the Prime Minister and his shadow talk about health, you’ll know they’re taking about Medicare 1975, version 35.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
You can be pretty certain the debate won’t be about health it will be about Rudd wanting to take great control of the medical system to inflate his own ego - using GST money to do it.
I’ve written to Abbott saying he has two choices:
1. to reshape the health system for the next 40 years by establishing Medicare version 2010, or
2. prop up a creaking Medicare 1975 with a version 35 that's only slightly different from
Rudd’s version and which still costs taxpayer more money than Medicare 1975, version 34.
The great tragedy is that for the last 35 years the medical industry has diverted the attention of governments from 'health' to 'medicine'. As soon as you put doctors and economists in charge of a health system this is where the money goes.
Doctor visits have gone from 4 a year to 12 a year. Just how hopeless is the medical advice that stimulates more and more visits. If it was effective people would be becoming healthier and visiting the doctor less.
The percentage of GDP spent on medical services has doubled.
Government expenditure on medical welfare is now around $80B a year.
This medico-centric view of the world has overseen the most dramatic decline in community health in the history of this country.
Kevin Rudd will not talk about 'health'. He'll talk about 'medicine', in particular Medicare 1975, version 35 and the further protection of the medical industry. All he wants to do is pour more money into hospitals, thinking that will make everything better, solve all health problems.
It won't. It's more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff. Next year the medical begging bowls will be out again for another couple of Billion.
Rudd wants the Commonwealth to have a larger role in hospitals just to satisfy his own ego. Then, if it's like the other projects of this Government, they'll stuff it up. Who are these people thinking they can run hospitals better than anyone else, any better than they can run the ceiling insulation and school building programs?
The fact that Medicare 1975, version 1 was well intentioned didn't make it a good program. It was hastily conceived and poorly thought out. Whoever thought of attaching a welfare system to a medical system was a complete dill.
The delivery was dreadful. July 1st 1975 was the starting date for the greatest decline in the health of the Australian community since the landing of the First Fleet. And as the standard of health went down, medical expenditure increased - exponentially. It was the wrong model.
Rudd will make a poor system worse by throwing more money at it.
I told Abbott he’s got a once in a lifetime chance to build a new and better system.
I told him this was the big one - that he had a chance to bring about a revival of community health, fitness and wellbeing and save the Commonwealth and the States from going bankrupt.
I said the goal is to lower medical expenditure by giving people the opportunity and the incentive to improve their level of health and fitness.
By focusing on people becoming fit and healthy, the hospitals will look after themselves.
On the track
30 minutes on the stepper for 510 steps and 390 calories.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and from now on, every time you hear the Prime Minister and his shadow talk about health, you’ll know they’re taking about Medicare 1975, version 35.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
RUDD HOOKED ON TRAVEL - Friday 19th March 2010
Kevin Rudd, with his Minister for Health lurking in the shadows has embarked on the most wasteful use of public time, public resources in the form of VIP aircraft, the creation of greenhouse gas, not to mention the time wasted by doctors, nurses and administrators in hospitals in the history of the country.
It beggars belief why these two can’t pump out press releases from their offices Canberra. The travel of the Prime Minister in particular must be having a serious effect on his capacity to manage the affairs of state.
It begs several questions.
Why is he doing it?
Why isn’t he leaving the heavy lifting to his Minister for Health? Maybe she's not up to the heavy lifting. Maybe he's driven by his own ego to make a mark before the next election.
Why are the two of them wasting their time traipsing through hospitals?
Why isn’t the Minister for Health spending time working out how to make people fitter and healthier so they don’t need to go within a bull’s roar of a hospital?
If this health policy was any good it would sell itself. Despite all the travel, no-one has a clue what it’s all about. It’s going to end up like the climate change policy and the broadband policy, a dead duck!
Fixing the hospitals is not a tough assignment.
All you have to do is send out accounts or float them off to private industry.
Stopping people from going to them in the first place seems to be the 800 lb gorilla in the room that no-one wants to do anything about, least of tall the Minister for Health who has just been presented with a report on preventive health.
On the track
No track this morning. Left home early to conduct a one day Seven Habits of Fit and Healthy people seminar at the Australian Institute of Sport.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and if you’re in a hospital make room for the Prime Minister to park himself on your bed.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
It beggars belief why these two can’t pump out press releases from their offices Canberra. The travel of the Prime Minister in particular must be having a serious effect on his capacity to manage the affairs of state.
It begs several questions.
Why is he doing it?
Why isn’t he leaving the heavy lifting to his Minister for Health? Maybe she's not up to the heavy lifting. Maybe he's driven by his own ego to make a mark before the next election.
Why are the two of them wasting their time traipsing through hospitals?
Why isn’t the Minister for Health spending time working out how to make people fitter and healthier so they don’t need to go within a bull’s roar of a hospital?
If this health policy was any good it would sell itself. Despite all the travel, no-one has a clue what it’s all about. It’s going to end up like the climate change policy and the broadband policy, a dead duck!
Fixing the hospitals is not a tough assignment.
All you have to do is send out accounts or float them off to private industry.
Stopping people from going to them in the first place seems to be the 800 lb gorilla in the room that no-one wants to do anything about, least of tall the Minister for Health who has just been presented with a report on preventive health.
On the track
No track this morning. Left home early to conduct a one day Seven Habits of Fit and Healthy people seminar at the Australian Institute of Sport.
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and if you’re in a hospital make room for the Prime Minister to park himself on your bed.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
KEVIN RUDD:THE THE BIGGEST LOSER - Thursday 18thg March 2010
Kevin Rudd’s at it again. Another day, other hospital to announce a new diabetes initiative: $430million to go to doctors so that can better monitor customers with diabetes.
That’s just one hell of a lot of money to pour down the medical black hole. Where in the hell do they pluck these numbers from? Who in the Department of Health is plucking them?
Surely when people have diabetes they front up to the doctors and pay their account as per normal. You don’t need more money for that.
The thing I’m really critical of is the fact that Rudd and the Minister for Health (lurking in his shadow) think that going to the doctor constitutes best practice for the treatment of the diabetic form of metabolic dysfunction.
How can it be when going to the surgery didn’t stop it from happening in the first place? This is just another of the personally-generated, lifestyle-related body system dysfunctions that the medical industry doesn’t have a clues about.
What can people expect - another sermon on losing weight, eating more bread and ambling around the block a few times a week? And who takes any notice? I’ll tell you who takes notice; nobody.
I’ve got a mate who’s suddenly found out he’s got diabetes. He’s 30 Kg over weight for starters. Then he told me he’s going to the gym once a week. He’s dreaming. Whoever put him up to that knows nothing about exercise as a treatment for metabolic dysfunction. They need their head read.
It’s just the wrong treatment. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Where does Rudd get this advice from? How is this money going to make on diabetic customer fitter and healthier. They’ll just get fed more junk medication that won’t go within a bull’s roar of restoring poor function to good.
Rudd should be spending $430m sending people to the Biggest Loser for a couple of months.
On the track.
What track!
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and wait for the Prime Minister and his shadow to spend an hour in a hospital near you.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
That’s just one hell of a lot of money to pour down the medical black hole. Where in the hell do they pluck these numbers from? Who in the Department of Health is plucking them?
Surely when people have diabetes they front up to the doctors and pay their account as per normal. You don’t need more money for that.
The thing I’m really critical of is the fact that Rudd and the Minister for Health (lurking in his shadow) think that going to the doctor constitutes best practice for the treatment of the diabetic form of metabolic dysfunction.
How can it be when going to the surgery didn’t stop it from happening in the first place? This is just another of the personally-generated, lifestyle-related body system dysfunctions that the medical industry doesn’t have a clues about.
What can people expect - another sermon on losing weight, eating more bread and ambling around the block a few times a week? And who takes any notice? I’ll tell you who takes notice; nobody.
I’ve got a mate who’s suddenly found out he’s got diabetes. He’s 30 Kg over weight for starters. Then he told me he’s going to the gym once a week. He’s dreaming. Whoever put him up to that knows nothing about exercise as a treatment for metabolic dysfunction. They need their head read.
It’s just the wrong treatment. Wrong, wrong, wrong.
Where does Rudd get this advice from? How is this money going to make on diabetic customer fitter and healthier. They’ll just get fed more junk medication that won’t go within a bull’s roar of restoring poor function to good.
Rudd should be spending $430m sending people to the Biggest Loser for a couple of months.
On the track.
What track!
In the meantime stay tuned, highly tuned and wait for the Prime Minister and his shadow to spend an hour in a hospital near you.
John Miller
www.fitandhealthyonline.com
www.globalbackcare.com
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