Health Topics: Managed Healthcare

Managed Health Care

Are the trillions of dollars spent each year on medical care in the industrialized world worth the cost, even though the incidence and mortality rate of disease is accelerating year by year? The vast majority of medical procedures and pharmaceutical interventions used throughout the world are not based on scientific studies. They are based on anecdotal evidence. This is a surprise to most people, but the simple truth is, as reported in the Journal of Medical Ethics (1992, 18:117), "only about 15 percent of medical interventions are supported by solid scientific evidence; in other words 85% are not." So the question is, why is the FDA insisting that 100% of all alternative health treatments be backed by scientific "proof" -- and throwing people in jail and shutting down distribution outlets if the do not comply? It's certainly not a question of public safety. If drugs that kill over 100,000 people a year (in the United States alone) can legally be promoted and sold, then it makes no sense to hold herbs that may be responsible for only 5 or 10 deaths a decade (and that's when severely overdosed) to a standard some 600% more stringent regulations? We must demand a level playing field. If you find this topic interesting you may want to read the following newsletters:

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