Health Care Conflicts

Doctors aren’t the only ones taking bribes. On January 10, 2012 we heard that the Wall Street Journal reported a member of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) panel that recommended Bayer birth controls pills had ties to the company; a direct conflict of interest. In January a research group questioned the effectiveness of Tamiflu as the manufacturer submitted incomplete information; the researchers found it could reduce the duration of the flu by one day but couldn’t confirm that it would stop the spread of the flu. The government had already spent $1 billion stockpiling it in case of a pandemic. I would think the government would use its own agencies to verify a product before stockpiling it and would hold companies accountable for their actions.

On January 27 a new study found that fried food is not the direct cause of heart risk. This goes along with the February 2 article in a medical journal that said sugar should be taxed like alcohol; it linked added sugar to metabolic syndrome that causes obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and high triglycerides which leads to heart disease (the number one killer of Americans). This article said the sugar in products would be okay if people didn’t add it to other things and the average person uses 22 spoons of sugar a day (a glass of orange juice contains 6 teaspoons of sugar, one cup of cereal 5-6 spoons and a teaspoon of catsup has a teaspoon of sugar). The Sugar Association responded with – There is an obesity problem in our country that can lead to the very serious health issues mentioned...but it originates from the combination of overconsumption of all foods and the lack of exercise. To label a single food as the one and only problem misinforms, misleads and confuses consumers and simply adds to the problem. ABC’s Dr. Besser said that you can help reduce the problem by getting rid of the sodas and the sport drinks and limiting juice to once a day and if you do that you shouldn’t have to worry because that’s where the bulk of the sugar is coming from. On April 3 it was reported that another study said that the US obesity epidemic is worse than they previously thought; Dr. Robert Lustig said that the cause is not just sugar; processed food contains a lot of sugar and removes fiber; he said a debate that went on in the 1970s regarding fat (low or no fat products) being replaced by sugar resulted in losing fat; he also said the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 doesn’t allow you to know that how much lactose (milk sugar which is okay) versus added sugar is in a product (e.g. yogurt); additionally the fructose in fruit has fiber that mitigates the sugar as it limits how fast the body absorbs it; although the calories are the same the sugar in juices are not absorbed slowly (he paralleled sugars to fats, carbohydrates and amino acids – there are good and bad ones). Dr. Lustig said sugar is not only toxic but addictive and other such substances have laws for them; he said the sugar industry will continue to tout its mantra. (January 6 Dr. Mike Dow said he has a 28 day diet plan to break your brain’s food addictions.)

On March 13 Dr. Sanjay Gupta reported (and he has a book out on this) that every Monday morning hospital surgeons get together for Morbidity and Mortality meetings to discuss the errors they made and the lessons learned. This practice is to improve the care given to patients. If this works, it seems to me that other doctors should be using time to improve their specialties as well. For example: in February it was reported that common indigestion drugs are linked to an increase in hip fracture risk; the British Medical Journal said those taking sleeping pills are 3.5 times likely to die; insomnia is not a disease it a symptom of heart disease - fluid in the chest cavity, diabetes – going to the bathroom several times during the night, asthma – breathing difficulty and cancer – hormonal changes and pain. The sleeping pill slows down the activity in the brain; short term use is okay but long term patients should be checked for other conditions; on April 2 a study showed long-tem hormone use to ease menopause is increasing breast cancer risk. I believe doctors shouldn’t be getting their information regarding drugs from a pharmaceutical marketing firm – it should come from the FDA.  

On December 16, 2011 a Maryland teen died during wisdom tooth surgery. Because a grandmother contacted ABC, on July 12, 2012 it was reported that many children have died from routine dental procedures; they were given high doses of sedatives/anesthesia so they wouldn’t squirm in the chair. It turns out there are seminars promoting the act and telling dentists about the tens of thousands of dollars they can make annually by sedating the children. It seems greed has hit every aspect of our medical system and part of the President’s health care law is to try and stop said misconduct.   

Good things do happen. On December 28, 2011 it was reported that a 15 year old boy’s immune system had shut down (born with a kidney disease) and he can’t be around other kids; a robot linked to a laptop and WiFi connection walks the halls and attends his classes (he’s also the sports announcer at football games). On April 10, 2012 California scientists developed the world’s first portable brain scanner. On June 21 a 9^th grade boy won the Intel Science Fair by developing an early cancer detection device that’s 168xs faster and 400xs more sensitive than current tests and costs 3 cents to make the carbon nano tube paper that looks for the protein in cancers (he read articles; the subject wasn’t taught in school) and Johns Hopkins is saying the technology can be used to detect other infectious diseases. We need more of this type action from our researchers.