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Wendy T. -- >he makes the point that alternative >treatments, including such simple things as prevention and diet, are largely >ignored, cuz there's no money in them. Talk about vested interests - If you >can't patent an orange for its vitamin C content, or an ancient herb for its >therapeutic benefits, then why would a health and medical research system >based on profit ever want to promote alternative treatments (or even staying >healthy in the first place)? They make more money off us by >emphasizing "sick" care (once things are already bad), rather than >emphasizing "wellness" or "prevention." Although there is truth in the above statements -- I think that most physicians and medical researchers are not quite as cold-hearted as this leads one to believe. I think this is a *huge* problem with many complex issues as the culprits; such as the focus of medical education programs on "illness" rather than "wellness" (addressed by osteopathic medical school programs) - although change is coming slowly; little reimbursement by insurance companies for preventive-type health care - also slowly changing; traditional medical organizations which do not view non-traditional therapies as valid medical treatment; and the list goes on and on and on.... >What researcher, who is dependent on funding from drug companies, >would look into something in which there is no real method of funding it and >no way to patent any of the results? I am involved in medical research on a daily basis, and I really can't think of one physician I know who wouldn't like to see cancer wiped out because it would mean less money coming in! Or PD, or any disease for that matter. The cure is the reason for the research! Most of the time, the hospital/researcher is not making money from having grants; it just covers the basic costs of doing research. Believe me, the drug companies won't give you one more penny than they think you need to do the work! Funding is an important issue. Without grant money coming in, researchers are finding it impossible to simply "write off" the costs of research like they were able to do in the past. For instance, at the University Hospital where I work, more and more demands on physicians' time is being placed on clinical patient care duties; which is not all bad, but leaves medical research to be done in the evenings and on weekends, when many of the physicians are working anyway! It is a position that no one likes to be in, but the realities of cost-savings plans by hospital administrators at most hospitals in the US make this a reality! The blame does not lie with the physicians for this. Also, patents are often not an issue -- they almost always belong to the drug company. > I do think it's good to explore all possible all info available on a subject so that one >can determine for oneself what's the best for oneself and/or get those who've got the >relevant backgrounds thinking too and get them interested enough to also explore it >further. I agree completely. Most importantly, with this era of cost-savings and access to information comes responsibility. Responsibility of the patient to not accept one physician's opinion as The Truth. The acceptance that physicians aren't perfect, nor can they know every detail of every disease, including all possible traditional and non-traditional therapies. Just think -- the information on this PD list is overwhelming! I can hardly keep up with all the mail it generates. Now add hundreds of others diagnoses, even neurological alone, and try to memorize all the causes - suspected and known, symptoms, drug & other therapies, etc... it just isn't possible. This does not mean that physicians should not know a good deal about the diseases they treat, or find information if they don't. But I do think that people who do not experience first-hand about the state of medicine today cannot fully appreciate the enormous pressure (time constraints, legal, and otherwise) that medical professionals experience just trying to practice medicine from day to day! The amount of information about PD is overwhelming. We must be responsible in part for our own care. Please share any relevant information with your physician -- he/she may not be completely up-to-date on every new thing coming out in the medical field, especially to that which pertains to one specific disease. When time runs short, the journal reading piles up! I am sorry for rambling on... but I think we all need to attempt to understand the complete picture as much as we can. I hope this post will shed some light on the realities of practicing medicine, and hopefully the physicians on this list will correct/respond to issues brought up that relate to their practices. I remember a post from the past in which the "poster" was outraged that a physician did not have time to be a part of the list. I don't think this MD's response was uncaring; but rather a sincere and straightforward response, however unfortunate for us, that this person's time was limited. I think that needs to be respected. Wendy - I for one appreciate your postings about the alternative causes/treatments of PD -- this information would not be readily accessible to most of us! Your spirit and inquisitive thoughts are encouraging to us all! Thanks! Wendy R. (the other Wendy) [log in to unmask]