Do you care about what will probably kill you?
invite response
2018 Sep 17, 4:05am 4,507 views 7 comments
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2
curious2
2018 Sep 17, 5:02am
curious2
2018 Sep 17, 5:02am
lostand confused says
"Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US"
"Medical Errors Are No. 3 Cause Of U.S Deaths"
In addition to errors, "100,000...deaths are caused or influenced by infections picked up in hospitals. One hundred thousand deaths: more than double the number of people killed in car crashes, five times the number killed in homicides, 20 times the total number of our armed forces killed in Iraq and Afghanistan... blood clots following surgery or illness, the leading cause of preventable hospital deaths in the U.S., may kill nearly 200,000 patients per year."
If hospitals would simply switch from IV saline to balanced solutions, they "could save between 50,000 and 70,000 lives in the United States every year. Ditching the common solution could also reduce cases of kidney failure by 100,000.
***
"We've been sounding the alarm for 20 years" about possible harms from saline, Dr. John Kellum, a critical care specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn't involved with the research, told CBS News. "It's purely inertia" that prevents a change, he added."
And then there are the deliberate serial killers working in hospitals, moved along from one hospital to another like priests who molest children and then move to another parish.
Bottom line, you have a 60% chance of dying from one of the top three causes of death, with ~20% attributable to each.
That is pretty high?
"Medical error—the third leading cause of death in the US"
"Medical Errors Are No. 3 Cause Of U.S Deaths"
In addition to errors, "100,000...deaths are caused or influenced by infections picked up in hospitals. One hundred thousand deaths: more than double the number of people killed in car crashes, five times the number killed in homicides, 20 times the total number of our armed forces killed in Iraq and Afghanistan... blood clots following surgery or illness, the leading cause of preventable hospital deaths in the U.S., may kill nearly 200,000 patients per year."
If hospitals would simply switch from IV saline to balanced solutions, they "could save between 50,000 and 70,000 lives in the United States every year. Ditching the common solution could also reduce cases of kidney failure by 100,000.
***
"We've been sounding the alarm for 20 years" about possible harms from saline, Dr. John Kellum, a critical care specialist at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn't involved with the research, told CBS News. "It's purely inertia" that prevents a change, he added."
And then there are the deliberate serial killers working in hospitals, moved along from one hospital to another like priests who molest children and then move to another parish.
Bottom line, you have a 60% chance of dying from one of the top three causes of death, with ~20% attributable to each.
4
Shaman
2018 Sep 17, 7:58am
Shaman
2018 Sep 17, 7:58am
I imagine it’s only getting worse as everyone uses smart phones and tablets now that accumulate bacteria and move wherever the doctors and nurses go to each patient.
You’re right... making this a priority would draw attention to ththe problem and do a lot of good. However, it’s not sexy. People want to believe in the infallibility of doctors, sexy doctors, sexy nurses... and they don’t want to think about all the risks they take when they visit the hospital.
You’re right... making this a priority would draw attention to ththe problem and do a lot of good. However, it’s not sexy. People want to believe in the infallibility of doctors, sexy doctors, sexy nurses... and they don’t want to think about all the risks they take when they visit the hospital.
5
fdhfoiehfeoi
2018 Sep 17, 12:22pm
fdhfoiehfeoi
2018 Sep 17, 12:22pm
No, no, NO! What's important is if my side is controlling the government, global warming, and guns! Facts are irrelevant in the face of fear-mongering!!!
6
curious2
2018 Sep 17, 12:22pm
curious2
2018 Sep 17, 12:22pm
Quigley says
Yes, people cherish that fantasy, and doctors and nurses play up the part of bedside manner and the appearance of erudition and compassion. Many do mean well, but the actual practice tends to align with the financial incentives and institutional inertia, doing what is most lucrative rather than what works best.
BTW, a cautionary example from inside a hospital corporation in Chicago: a group of idealistic doctors and nurses organized to reduce nosocomial infections; their initiative worked so well that many ended up getting laid off, because without the infections, the hospital didn't need so many doctors and nurses. Hospital corporations maximize ROI.
BlueSardine says
That is a good point, but then why can't they vote to extend their own lives? Are they so wretched that they look forward to their demise and don't want to prolong their misery? If that is true, then why do they seek out or vote for medical programs at all? And why wait, instead of checking out early? And what is the difference between suicide and diverting resources from medical research into sectors that simply waste the money? I suspect that as Petrodollar hypnosis drives the suicidal decision to import Islam, medical industrial complex hypnosis drives the suicidal decision to forgo medical research and spend instead on toxic placebos.
People want to believe in the infallibility of doctors....
Yes, people cherish that fantasy, and doctors and nurses play up the part of bedside manner and the appearance of erudition and compassion. Many do mean well, but the actual practice tends to align with the financial incentives and institutional inertia, doing what is most lucrative rather than what works best.
BTW, a cautionary example from inside a hospital corporation in Chicago: a group of idealistic doctors and nurses organized to reduce nosocomial infections; their initiative worked so well that many ended up getting laid off, because without the infections, the hospital didn't need so many doctors and nurses. Hospital corporations maximize ROI.
BlueSardine says
"Extend", not "save"
curious2 saysWhy can't people vote to save their own lives?
That is a good point, but then why can't they vote to extend their own lives? Are they so wretched that they look forward to their demise and don't want to prolong their misery? If that is true, then why do they seek out or vote for medical programs at all? And why wait, instead of checking out early? And what is the difference between suicide and diverting resources from medical research into sectors that simply waste the money? I suspect that as Petrodollar hypnosis drives the suicidal decision to import Islam, medical industrial complex hypnosis drives the suicidal decision to forgo medical research and spend instead on toxic placebos.
7
Shaman
2018 Sep 17, 1:27pm
Shaman
2018 Sep 17, 1:27pm
curious2 says
From what I’ve seen in my daily life, yes. People generally don’t appreciate what they have. As Jordan Peterson says, consciousness can be a terrible burden to bear without a sense of purpose. And for many if not most, the stream of purpose runs very shallow. Addiction and escapes are how people cope. And if that purpose dries up, they add to the growing endpoint of suicide.
Without a vision the people perish.
Are they so wretched that they look forward to their demise and don't want to prolong their misery
From what I’ve seen in my daily life, yes. People generally don’t appreciate what they have. As Jordan Peterson says, consciousness can be a terrible burden to bear without a sense of purpose. And for many if not most, the stream of purpose runs very shallow. Addiction and escapes are how people cope. And if that purpose dries up, they add to the growing endpoint of suicide.
Without a vision the people perish.
1) heart disease
2) cancer
3) iatrogenic (mostly due to medical errors and nosocomial infections)
Each of these causes ~20% of deaths each year.
The latest media rage (gun violence) pales in comparison: fewer than 2% of deaths, and most are suicides. MSM and politicians say comparatively little about things that are more than 10 times more likely to kill you.
In the last 10 years, we have seen every possible combination of major party government at the federal level. We saw a Democratic Congress and a Republican President, a Democratic Congress and a Democratic President, a Republican Congress and a Democratic President, and now we have a Republican Congress and a Republican President. Has any of them cured heart disease or cancer? No. Has any of them even reduced medical error and nosocomial infections? Not much. Has any of them even tried? Not really.
Obamneycare increased medical spending and shortened life expectancy.
Research funding is controlled mainly by drug companies trying to increase their own revenues.
Public resources go to enriching favored industries, the usual lobby driven scams. Sometimes a candidate promises to increase public funding for research, but never with any commitment to deliver a result by a specific date.
Would a candidate who campaigned promising to cure heart disease or cancer within one term win? It should be possible with current technology. Why does no one even campaign on that? Why do people shuffle off this mortal coil with such disregard for their own mortality? Are they tired of living? Too distracted by hating Trump or the "liberlas"? Why can't people vote to save their own lives?