The system of state-run health care, which is championed by many in Hollywood, is responsible for the death of a baby and now its champions are silent.
The post After Using His Son to Beg for Socialized Medicine, Jimmy Kimmel Silent as It Kills Baby Alfie appeared first on The Free Thought Project.
Hospitals are now government subsidized monopolies. They have little to do with improving the health of patients but have everything to do with dispensing pharmaceutical industry drugs and treatments. The net result is that small and rural hospitals must merge into mega facilities in order to achieve economy of scale or close altogether because fewer Americans can afford health insurance coverage. Federal and State subsidizes are mounting in a futile attempt to pay for the deficits that arise in providing medical costs for an aging population. This formula has only one outcome, BANKRUPTCY.
At the core of the failed medical culture is the reliance on chemical compounds plagued by dire side effect prescriptions and marketed as miracle drugs. Often the only marvel is that a patient does not die quicker. In order to achieve a healthy lifestyle, the food diet and digested requires a fundamental revamping of what is eaten, how it is processed and most important, what to avoid.
This approach conflicts with the incessant drive to create even bigger bureaucracies and more complex regulations and requirements for access to medical services.
Basing this system on an insurance model guarantees insolvency of a private sector delivery system. Government is all too eager to assume (using their flawed general welfare claim) that schemes like Medicare, Medicaid and Obamacare are necessary to pay for and provide medical coverage. The fact that this argument simply does not work should be self-evident.
Hospitals project that their form of treatments are proven. The problem is that their notion of tested practices usually ends up in a body bag. Government funding for Ayurvedic, Homeopath, Massage therapist, Hypnotherapist, Naturopath and Osteopath physicians/practitioner are usually outside the protective cocoon of the administrative boards and foundations connected with medical citadels.
Therapy using alternative methods demand that a sick person or one seeking treatment for some illness mostly pay out of pocket. Around 40 percent of Americans lacked dental insurance at the end of 2012, according to the National Association of Dental Plans. That’s compared to 12.9 percent without health insurance, according to the latest figures from Gallup – May 20, 2015.
If the consumer was actually paying with their own funds for the services and fees administered, the marketplace of costs would be much more responsive to a real or perceived benefit. Hospitals for outpatient care add substantial expense and ridiculous administrative overhead for procedures that have been drive up by the excessive rate amounts approved by government programs.
Medical treatment demands a negotiated agreement between the patient and those who practice the art/science of healing. In this age of the breakdown in rational medical delivery, the unsustainable fiasco of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has destroyed the last refuge of even the appearance of cost-effective medicine.
Only a repudiation of the bloated and unaccountable government oversight administration has even a slight chance to establishing a market based relationship between patient invoicing and effective and reduced costs for services.
Hospitals could rent out physical space, labs, examination rooms and treatment facilities to independent physicians or practitioners who would apply their expertise in consultation with the patient. Charges for such services would be the responsibility of those suffering from an illness. In this manner a balance in the relationship that reflects an agreed to value would have the effect to keep invoicing realistic.
Government subsidies only drive up costs. Mega hospitals by consolidating and closing down their rivals add layers of bureaucratic inefficiency and unaccountability, while diminishing choice for treatment with every closing or liquidation.
If patients added up the cumulative billing for hospital, doctor and prescription drugs, and paid such bills with their own funds; they surely would become educated consumers. Saving from opting out of medical insurance would accumulate over the years and grow for the time when such funds might be needed to satisfy whatever treatment option is sought.
The myth that society has a responsibility to make available whatever treatment procedure to cure, prolong or experiment using government funds has guaranteed that national bankruptcy is the inevitable prognosis. Fostering the conditions that close hospital competition is simply developing the “too big to fail” theory applied to medical treatment.
And where is the doctor outrage in this formula? Lawsuit fights “existential threat” to medical staff independence illustrates the trend to squeeze out the last blood dollar from the artificial and government sponsored hospital model.
“The suits stems from actions taken Jan. 26, 2016, when the Tulare Regional Medical Center (TRMC) board of directors voted to terminate the hospital’s medical staff organization and effectively remove the hospital’s elected medical staff officers, install a slate of appointed officers, and approve new medical staff bylaws and rules drafted without staff input.
Except for the newly appointed officers, the rest of the staff was then terminated, stripped of their rights as active members and then granted “provisional” status as part of the new medical staff which they had not applied or consented to membership with, according to a post-trial brief filed by the TRMC Medical Staff.
The replacement bylaws also contained a provision, since amended, that physicians could achieve and maintain “active” status by proving their economic value to the hospital, according to the brief—which described that provision as “basically, an illegal kickback scheme.”
“If you could imagine hospital medical staff bylaws written by hospital lawyers, this is what they would look like,” Do said. “Doctors shouldn’t be making decisions on patient care based on hospital profitability.”
The net result is to force out the regional, rural or independent facilities and structure the supra corporate hospital into a partnership with government, where other clinics need not apply. This Is not exactly a M*A*S*H, medical emergency unit, but more closely resembles a sanatorium of demented technocrats. Save health services by converting them into alternative medicine facilities. Cancel your health insurance and start saving to pay for a future illness. Get government out of the health care business and return sanity so the sick can decide just what treatment they want.
The post Government Subsidized Medicine Bankrupt Hospitals appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.
This article was originally published by James Quinn at The Burning Platform
Yeah, keep your eyes on the road, your hand upon the wheel
Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel
Yeah, we’re goin’ to the Roadhouse
We’re gonna have a real
Good time
The Doors – Roadhouse Blues
Spending a week driving around a western state 1,700 miles from my stomping grounds in Pennsylvania provides a different perspective on the level of economic, social and political degradation impacting the country. With a daily commute along the crumbling, crummy, gridlocked deathtrap roadways into West Philadelphia, the squalor and decomposition of our civilization is self-evident.
I live in a corrupt state with the highest gasoline taxes, highest tolls, massively underfunded government pension liability, failing government run public schools, suburban sprawl dotted with ghost malls, vacant industrial parks, and urban ghetto shitholes plagued by drugs, murder, welfare mentality, excessive taxes, and left wing politicians.
Politically, the state is virtually split down the middle, with the urban enclaves of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh dominated by Democrats, rural areas dominated by Republicans, and suburbs capable of going either way – but leaning left. Trump won the state mostly due to the lack of enthusiasm for Hillary in Philly and Pittsburgh. If the Democrats weren’t so dysfunctional and beholden to the far left, a moderate Democrat would win the state easily.
The governor is a Democrat and the legislature is Republican controlled, so budgets are virtually impossible to pass, with the only predictable outcome being higher taxes, fees, tolls, and deferral of essential actions to address the billions in underfunded government pensions. The Federal prison has a wing just for corrupt PA politicians. At least life is predictable.
Living in the northwest suburbs, 30 miles from the City of Philadelphia, and commuting into the city on a daily basis for the last 12 years, has given me a good vantage point in assessing the state of the infrastructure, economic trends, and societal decay in my part of this exponentially delusional, debt dependent, chaotic country. The U.S. and my corner of PA. have supposedly been in the midst of an economic recovery for the last nine years.
The government data shows a declining unemployment rate, rising GDP, non-existent inflation, record corporate profits, low interest rates leading to a growing housing market, soaring consumer confidence, and a record high stock market. In the parlance of Jim Morrison, we’ve been at the Roadhouse having a real good time. We’re gonna need more than a beer to recover from the inevitable hangover.
My suburban slice of Montgomery County is prosperous and growing, based upon demographic and economic data produced by the government. The populace is mostly upper middle class white collar families. I’ve lived in the same house for 23 years, through the 2000 internet bust, the Greenspan created housing bubble, the 2008 Wall Street created financial implosion, and the supposed nine year economic recovery. Within three miles of my house we had two strip centers with 100% occupancy in 1995. For the last eight years one center has been 90% vacant and the other 50% vacant. Office buildings built in 2005 still have numerous vacancies. Entire 600,000 sq. ft. office parks remain unoccupied, except for weeds, rodents, mold and decay.
Grand government plans for new retail outlets never materialized. Numerous gas stations have been shuttered, rotting and weed infested testaments to better times. Numerous grocery stores, locally owned restaurants, and small businesses have gone belly up during these supposed good times. Imagine what will happen during the next official recession.
This Potemkin economic recovery is buttressed by unpayable debt, Federal Reserve easy money, fudged financial industry accounting, fake economic data, endemic political corruption, and a perpetual flow of propaganda from the corporate media spigot convincing the mathematically challenged masses all is well and going into debt to keep up with the Joneses is a brilliant strategy for success. If you ignore the fake news and false rhetoric from politicians, bankers and the media, you can see the continued economic deterioration with your own eyes and your own bank account.
You can tell what our society values and supports by observing your immediate surroundings. The only construction I see are new bank branches, new medical facilities, drug stores, new fast food joints (creating the need for new medical facilities), and new government buildings. The once teetering Wall Street banking industry is alive and well due to tens of trillions funneled their way by the Fed and feckless Washington political machine.
You can’t swing a dead homeless person without hitting a Too Big To Trust Wall Street bank branch. Why do we need these monuments to greed and hubris when you can make a deposit with your smartphone, pay your bills on-line, and use your debit or credit card for every transaction? It’s insane to waste money on thousands of branches. But, when you can get your money from the Fed for free, everything looks like a good investment.
The trillions flowing out of people’s bank accounts and into the coffers of the sick industry complex have enriched these corporations to such an extent; they feel the need to build palatial complexes and numerous outlets for their “legal” drug distribution. You know an industry is rolling in dough when they build high tech glass palaces with concierge service and upscale restaurants, to service sick people.
Those Obamacare premiums and insurance payments are going somewhere, and even after paying the corporate executives their obscene salaries and bonuses, there is plenty left over for the construction of medical Taj Mahals and lobbying corrupt slimy snakes in congress for more. Despite the extravagance of these medical facilities, the service still sucks, a Tylenol costs $25, the physicians are barely adequate, the mis-diagnosis rate is sky high, and the staff is surly and rude.
Local politicians build themselves new grand municipal buildings, even though there are vacant office buildings out the wazoo. New Social Security Administration buildings are constructed at an astounding pace, especially in the Democrat controlled urban ghettos. New Section 8 housing estates are built with union labor on the taxpayer dime. That is the common denominator in all the new building occurring in this country.
The funds for this frenzy of banking, sick care and government construction has materialized out of thin air by a privately owned banking cabal called the Federal Reserve in conspiracy with the Deep State. This entire engineered Potemkin recovery and building boom is built on a liquefying foundation of bad debt and lies. Let it roll, baby, roll.
My little piece of suburban paradise in this failing and falling empire of debt may be decaying slowly, but my daily commute into the putrid, dilapidated, crumbling ghetto killing field called Philadelphia is a different matter. This corrupt liberal bastion of unfunded government pensions, outrageously high taxes, overpriced union labor, criminal Democrat politicians, dreadful public schools, potholes that could swallow a small car, crumbling infrastructure, murder, mayhem, and an enslaved underclass of welfare dependent minorities, is much further along the track to collapse. This city has pockets of prosperity, but its death rattle is unmistakable. The decay is too far gone and debt too large to realistically reverse course, even if there was a will to do so – which there is not.
My week in Colorado further clarified my view the American empire is in decline, but it is a cascading decline with regions and cities at various stages of collapse. My relatively rural suburban enclave is probably fifty percent of the way there. Philadelphia is eighty percent of the way there. Colorado only appears to be twenty five percent of the way there. I would ponder much of the western U.S., excluding the liberal bastions in California and Washington State, is also further from collapse than the heavily urbanized debt burdened northeastern U.S.
Driving up I-25 to Fort Collins, down to Colorado Springs and west to Boulder and Breckinridge, presented a fairly broad view of the greater Denver area. The most conspicuous aspect of Colorado, from my perspective, is the vast picturesque expanse of open space as far as the eye can see. Every direction seems to be framed by snow-capped Rocky Mountains. It’s the diametric opposite to my daily commute through the 30 Blocks of Squalor in West Philly.
The beauty of the Colorado landscape is somewhat obscured by a seemingly never ending proliferation of retail malls along the entire expanse of I-25. They all look alike, bathed in a beige sandstone design. The malls are populated by the same national retail chains inhabiting the ghost malls on the east coast. They are still constructing new malls, something not done on the east coast for years.
It seems there are still a significant number of people with disposable income in Colorado. Their labor participation rate has actually increased as their unemployment rate has fallen. The plunge in the participation rate has produced fake unemployment levels on the east coast. From that perspective Colorado is in better shape than most of the country.
You can’t help but notice the weed dispensaries sprinkled across the countryside. The legalization of marijuana has certainly had a short term economic benefit, as it has generated jobs and a massive inflow of tax revenue into government coffers. The longer term negative impact is revealing itself by the inordinate amount of homeless addicts in downtown Denver, at interstate off-ramps, under bridge overpasses in Boulder, and loitering in public parks in college towns like Fort Collins. The seeds of collapse are already planted. The influx of liberals fleeing California and the east coast are already indoctrinating a formerly conservative self-reliant state with socialist, feminist, and nanny state philosophies. This was borne out by Hillary’s narrow victory in 2016.
The infrastructure is not in a state of disrepair. Instead of trash and garbage along its interstates, there are clean-up crews picking up tumbleweeds. Everything still has that new smell feel. You just don’t see dilapidated structures. There are no potholes. Stop lights always function. Traffic is heavy at peak times, but not gridlocked. With the best ski resorts, awe inspiring tourist attractions (Garden of the Gods, Red Rocks), the majestic Rockies, growing economy, lack of government pension liabilities, and the weed industry, Colorado will sustain itself far longer than the Democrat run putrefying urban ghettos on the east coast. Make no mistake, the American empire is in the midst of a cascading collapse, and it will reach Colorado eventually.
If ever the lyrics “The future’s uncertain and the end is always near” were more applicable, it would be this past week. The stock market plunged by almost 1,300 points (no tweets from Trump taking credit), Trump accelerated his trade war with the world, he replaced a warmongering general with a warmongering neocon psychopath, the first quarter GDP estimate continued to decline to below 2%, a bunch of useful idiots were manipulated by Soros, Bloomberg and other liberal billionaires to protest against their own rights, and Trump topped it off by stabbing his supporters in the back by signing a bloated Democrat/RINO $1.3 trillion spending bill funding left wing priorities while ignoring everything he supposedly stands for. The Deep State either has pictures, or he is just a wolf in sheep’s clothing with no moral compass or desire to fulfill the agenda he ran on. It was a profoundly disappointing week for Trump supporters, even as the financial markets and economy show unequivocal cracks.
As we enter the second half of this Fourth Turning, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the specific events which will propel us towards its climax. We do know the events will be driven by the three catalysts of debt, civic decay, and global disorder. We’ve breached the $21 trillion national debt level, with Trump’s new budget poised to blast through $22 trillion in less than a year. The $200 trillion of unfunded liabilities looms in the foreseeable future. Corporate debt stands at an all-time high. Consumer debt stands at an all-time high. Global debt approaches $200 trillion. The coming financial dislocation will blow this powder keg of debt sky high. Matches are being lit on a daily basis.
Civic decay accelerates as gun grabbing left wing billionaires attempt to disarm the deplorables before the real conflict arrives. The Deep State wages war against the insurrection within their swamp. Surveillance agencies commit acts of treason. The Constitution is shit upon by those in power. An ongoing coup against the sitting president proceeds unabated. The citizens are treated as sheep being led to slaughter.
The few critical thinking dissenters are treated as criminals for exercising their First Amendment rights. The social media conglomerates, acting as the eyes and ears of the Deep State, lure the masses into willingly sacrificing their private information. There will be no compromise. The animosity between right and left has reached civil war levels. There is no middle. This will be a fight to the finish.
Trump has surrounded himself with neo-con war mongering philistines, while provoking nuclear powers, and embroiling our military in unwinnable conflicts across the Middle East. Trade wars, whether warranted or not, will ratchet up the intensity and antagonism. The Muslim hordes invading Europe are already provoking a political uprising across the continent. The North Korea problem is far from solved. Politicians across the globe facing unsolvable domestic issues will turn to foreign conflict as a way to distract the masses. Once the Rubicon is crossed the law of unintended consequences will rear its ugly head. The future of humanity hinges on the push of a button. Do you trust the current lot of feeble minded sociopaths to do the right thing?
The future may be uncertain but the end is always near. Within the next decade the future will be revealed. I believe we are headed for harder times. There is no going back to better days. Trump is the catalyst for conflict, both domestic and international. He will not save this nation. It will be up to individuals across the land. It’s time to mentally, physically, and financially prepare for the bitter winter ahead. Keep your eyes on the road and your hands upon the wheel. In the meantime, follow Jim Morrison’s advice and get yourself a beer.
This report was originally published by J. G. Martinez D. at The Organic Prepper
Dear fellows, I want to tell a little story of this last week.
My son had a rash in his little armpits and other parts. So his mom took him to the doctor, within walking distance from our subdivision (our SUV is still busted). After the subsequent blood test (according to my wife it was a real spectacle. He is a strong kid and a task force between my wife, the doctor and a nurse was needed to get the blood sample…well at least we know he is able to defend himself.) The lab result (freaking expensive because the reactants are scarce) was salmonella.
I started to worry a lot, as it is logical. That was Thursday. I got immediately into fast-forward mode, and found the money, while I was extremely concerned about the availability of the needed antibiotics. My wife woke up early, and with a neighbor in his car went with the kiddo to the pharmacy. After visiting two pharmacies with negative results, they headed up to a state-owned pharmacy next to the state hospital, controlled by Cubans or party members, who betray the hospital personnel that dares to report malnutrition deaths or similar events. This is happening.
She was finally able to find the medicines on Saturday morning, at a really inflated price, but the neighbor works for an official government, with a flash of his badge she could buy them without the employees giving it a second look.
I emailed a copy of the doctor’s report to Daisy, so she can confirm my history for those who feel the need to do so.
To me, this was a major achievement under the actual circumstances. I used some of the money from your donations, to exchange it for the needed Bolivares to buy the medications, but the important thing to note here is that they were found. And that is not easy in this country.
Forgotten diseases are returning
Recent reports from these last few days have been, for someone who understands the importance of the endemic diseases that had been under control, spreading quickly.
I am talking about serious stuff: Tuberculosis, Diptheria, Leishmaniasis. There have been adults and children who died because of these things. The diseases themselves, under normal conditions can be healed. But without the appropriate medications and proper nutrition, they become deadly.
Leishmaniasis
One of the worst endemic diseases that has been reported (this information arrived via social networking from confirmed, known sources) is Leishmaniasis. This is a parasite to which you should pay a lot of attention. With the lack of proper balanced feeding, a person’s natural defenses get lower, and it is much easier for them to get sick.
Traditionally there were programs all over the country to fumigate and keep the vectors under control. However, the last fumigation was a long time ago and this allowed the vectors to spread themselves again, reaching densely populated areas, and now without any modern medication to contain it.
Rodents, canines, are affected too. The main transmission vector is the mosquito, and their first manifestation is a skin lesion in the place of the bite. There are several forms of the disease, and most of them are deadly. This is a disease associated with the malnourishment, population displacement, poor living conditions, weak immune systems, and a general lack of resources. This is the exact scenario we have been living through and the description of an SHTF situation. It affects the liver and has permanent consequences if not treated properly.
Ehrlichiosis
Another disease we have present in our area is the Ehrlichiosis, a tropical variation of Lyme disease. Fortunately, we could find the antibiotics for this as well, but of course at incredible prices. Thankfully with a 2nd income, it could be obtained. My wife got better after weeks of feeling sick once we knew what it was.
In a funny side note, we had to go to a veterinary lab, as it was the only one in town that was able to do such testing. This gave me floor for a LOT of imaginative, creative jokes to her. Lol.
We used the recipes to buy some extra blisters packs of medication, just in case, for our medicine box will be donated once the family can come with me.
Tuberculosis
Another disease that had an incredible increase is tuberculosis. It is known that tuberculosis is linked to malnutrition (source) and it is becoming increasingly widespread in Venezuela. As it is more or less known, improper nutrition is the main cause of this once-eradicated sickness in Venezuela. The cases were very few, and widely spread, mainly among drug addicts, homeless people, or even patients of psychiatric hospitals. This is a bacteria, and the infection damage is located especially in lungs.
A weakened immune system makes it easy for the disease to take hold. There are a lot of ways to prevent our defenses from getting too low, but proper nutrition is the best prevention. Whole foods, of course, provide more leverage to our immune system than processed foods.
Mosquito-transmitted diseases
Another important and significant increase has been in the mosquito-transmitted diseases. With the main insecticides factories financially strangled, their production is scarce, and the well-known government mafia takes over whatever they can.
Finding a can of insecticide is not easy. This is another item that should be stockpiled. It is not going to lose efficiency. I could afford to buy a fumigation machine, able to provide a clouding of droplets with a very small size, the needed size to float in the air for hours (I don´t remember how many microns, I think about 0.5 or so). It is useful for house fumigation as well as greenhouse or crops, despite being electrical. It does not use a heating element, so it is much more simple to maintain and fix, and this allows to use a wider variety of insecticides that do not need to be burned to remain as a cloud for keeping their effectiveness.
Salmonella
Our recent experience with salmonella last week opened our eyes to how bad sanitation conditions have become. Of course, this is to be expected. There are no cleaning products at affordable prices, and therefore the hygiene decreases significantly, and salmonella is a disease very closely linked to hygiene.
According to my research for this article, salmonella can be transmitted by infected hens, even before teggshellell is formed, and this seemed to us something very likely because the chicken farmers can’t afford the mandatory vaccines or medications for the animals.
Another salmonella infection source is raw poultry. We noticed that in the place we buy our fresh poultry and cheese, these are stored in the same freezer. This is not what we could call ideally sanitary, but it is our first time facing such an illness.
According to our doctor, that same day there were 2 other cases of salmonella before our son. This is alarming, to me. Never had seen even one case, except very rare instances, and suddenly three persons in a row in a doctor’s office?
This is highly suspicious, at a minimum.
What can we do given that we are not regular people but preppers?
Let’s see.
My first thought is, given that the readers are spread worldwide, is research what diseases are endemic to your area. Statiscally speaking, the probability of picking up a disease that is not typical of your region should be low.
Once the hazard your group maybe exposed to is identified, then proceed with the neutralization measures by finding out which medications would be needed if the normal supply is no longer available.
Some prepper-friendly doctor could extend the needed prescriptions, and your stashed medicines would be one of the stuff that should be already in your secluded BOL, under the proper conditions. [Alternatively, if you can’t get those, look for herbal remedies you can create yourself – this book is a reference every prepper should own ~ Daisy]
Given what we have experienced, I would not try to save money on this issue. It will be worth every penny if you need it. Oh, and I don’t work or have any relationship with any medical company other than swallowing their stuff from time to time if needed.
This said, I would calculate, depending on the medical history of the family (for example, urinary infections, bacterial stomach infections like amoebas in my case) and the endemic disease information, then go about stockpiling two complete treatments a year, for each family member.
Other possible treatments could be those for botulism. Some antidote against this toxin should be stockpiled. This is very serious, and the probability of appearing is not because it is endemic, but because of things like decomposing canned food.
Skin burn ointments and other common medications would be needed, too. Our scarcity began about 4 years ago, but mostly because of the inflation. If you have the money, you can find anything you need, even under these conditions.
Therefore, I strongly suggest you find a good, suitable way, optimized for your particular conditions to store wealth.
This is worst case scenario and you may adjust it to your own medical knowledge and location. It would be great to receive comments from people in the know.
Thank you.
I give special thanks to those who have prayed for my family, because your prayers, my fellow preppers, really worked.
I don´t have words to describe how grateful I am for all of you.
We faced this issue, came through the other side almost unharmed, knowing this could have become serious if the medicine were not found, and I am sure your prayers for us were heard…
I don’t have words to thank you. God Bless you all, people!
Jose
About the Author
Jose is an upper middle class professional. He is a former worker of the oil state company with a Bachelor’s degree from one of the best national Universities. He has a small 4 members family, plus two cats and a dog. An old but in good shape SUV, a good 150 square meters house in a nice neighborhood, in a small but (formerly) prosperous city with two middle size malls. Jose is a prepper and shares his eyewitness accounts and survival stories from the collapse of his beloved Venezuela. If you’d like to donate to help Jose get his family out of Venezuela, you can do so here: paypal.me/JoseM151
Please feel free to share any information from this article in part or in full, giving credit to the author and including a link to The Organic Prepper and the following bio.
Daisy Luther is the author of The Pantry Primer: A Prepper’s Guide To Whole Food on a Half Price Budget. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca
A coalition of 20 states has come together to sue the federal government over Obamacare. The states say that the law is no longer Constitutional and it should be abolished.
Without the individual mandate (a provision in the Obamacare law that demanded all Americans buy health insurance that the government deemed acceptable or pay a fine) which has been removed, the law is supposedly unconstitutional. Often called the “teeth” of the Obamacare law, the individual mandate was highly controversial and should have never been shoved down the throats of people anyway.
According to Reuters, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel are leading the charge of 20 states standing up to the federal government. The lawsuit said that without the individual mandate, which was eliminated as part of the Republican tax law signed by President Donald Trump in December, Obamacare was unlawful. “The U.S. Supreme Court already admitted that an individual mandate without a tax penalty is unconstitutional,” Paxton said in a statement. “With no remaining legitimate basis for the law, it is time that Americans are finally free from the stranglehold of Obamacare, once and for all,” he said.
Texas and Wisconsin were joined in the lawsuit by 18 other states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Utah and West Virginia. It was filed in U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Texas.
“Obamacare was always designed to fail in order to usher in something worse,” says Melissa Dyke at Truthstream Media. But what could possibly be any worse than Obamacare? “Government-run, single-payer, socialist healthcare,” says Dykes. And the evidence is in the leaked Podesta emails up on Wikileaks.
A Democrat supporting Republican legislation to destroy Obamacare on purpose. How many millions have they raked in on this deal and bilked the American people for in Obamacare penalties because they can’t afford the “affordable” health care? And the American people will look at this like a “victory” when it does unravel, even though it has been the plan all along. –The Daily Sheeple
It’s still difficult to comprehend that in the “land of the free” the federal government could, for any reason, tax and individual for NOT buying something. And we wonder why we’re constantly sliding down on the freedom index. (The US is at #17 by the way, meaning 16 other countries have more freedom than those residing here do.) And the country had to claw their way to the #17 spot after being 7 places below that the year before.
This is what can happen when you go to a socialized healthcare system. A lot of people out there believe that the United States has a free market healthcare system, but that is actually not true. The percentage of the population that receives government-subsidized healthcare is rapidly approaching 50 percent, and the healthcare industry may be the most heavily regulated sector of the entire U.S. economy. Every year the rules, red tape and regulations seem to get even worse, and every year health insurance premiums rise much faster than the overall rate of inflation. If we don’t start applying free market principles and start getting healthcare costs under control, our entire healthcare system could very easily implode.
I would like to share with you an excerpt from an article by former DEA agent David Hathaway. According to Hathaway, the average cost for an appendectomy in the United States is $33,000…
My son had an attack of appendicitis late Saturday night. I knew that the Obamacare inflated prices for surgery in the U.S. would be ridiculous and that the service would likely be impersonal, involve long waits, and be nerve-wracking. I have friends in the medical field so I inquired just for grins. The price for the latest routine appendectomy in my area was, my jaw dropped, $43,000. I read on-line that the average cost for an appendectomy in the U.S. is $33,000. I am not near some of the great direct-pay medical facilities in the U.S. like the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, but I am near Mexico. I chose that option since I have often utilized foreign medical and dental facilities in the past and find the service and prices to be outstanding.
You can buy a very nice brand new car for $33,000.
How in the world did we get to the point where costs have escalated so far out of control? Should performing an appendectomy really be this expensive?
I can imagine that some of my readers may be thinking that the quality of care down in Mexico is much lower, but this is actually not the case at all. Here is more from David Hathaway…
My son was checked into a private room with private bath and satellite TV awaiting his surgery. The surgical staff was prepped and ready to start within an hour-and-a half of our arrival. The appendix was ruptured, so extra precautions were taken to clean and flush the abdominal cavity. Since the appendix was ruptured, the chief surgeon said that my son should stay two days to receive intravenous antibiotics to prevent the development of peritonitis.
The surgery was a success, and David’s son did stay in the hospital for two full days in order to receive the antibiotics that the doctor suggested.
But despite the extra time, the bill for the appendectomy was still less than 10 percent of what it would have been if the appendectomy had been performed in the United States…
The hospital stay was for 48 hours in a private room where my wife was allowed to spend the nights with my son sleeping on a couch in his room. This cost would have been significantly less if we hadn’t incurred emergency fees and if the appendectomy had not involved complications which required a longer stay and more medication. Despite all that, I though the total price of $2,830 dollars was very reasonable.
So why can’t we have hospitals like that on our side of the border?
This is yet another example that shows that Obamacare has got to go and that we need to get government out of the healthcare business.
We once had the greatest healthcare system in the history of the world, and we can do it again if we will just return to free market principles. Elections really matter, and we simply cannot allow the Democrats and the establishment Republicans to take us even further down the road of socialized medicine.
They have already turned our once great healthcare system into a giant disaster zone, and we need to show them the door before they can do even more damage.
The post Why Is An Appendectomy In The United States 10 Times More Expensive Than An Appendectomy In Mexico? appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.
This is what can happen when you go to a socialized healthcare system. A lot of people out there believe that the United States has a free market healthcare system, but that is actually not true. The percentage of the population that receives government-subsidized healthcare is rapidly approaching 50 percent, and the healthcare industry may be the most heavily regulated sector of the entire U.S. economy. Every year the rules, red tape and regulations seem to get even worse, and every year health insurance premiums rise much faster than the overall rate of inflation. If we don’t start applying free market principles and start getting healthcare costs under control, our entire healthcare system could very easily implode.
I would like to share with you an excerpt from an article by former DEA agent David Hathaway. According to Hathaway, the average cost for an appendectomy in the United States is $33,000…
My son had an attack of appendicitis late Saturday night. I knew that the Obamacare inflated prices for surgery in the U.S. would be ridiculous and that the service would likely be impersonal, involve long waits, and be nerve-wracking. I have friends in the medical field so I inquired just for grins. The price for the latest routine appendectomy in my area was, my jaw dropped, $43,000. I read on-line that the average cost for an appendectomy in the U.S. is $33,000. I am not near some of the great direct-pay medical facilities in the U.S. like the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, but I am near Mexico. I chose that option since I have often utilized foreign medical and dental facilities in the past and find the service and prices to be outstanding.
You can buy a very nice brand new car for $33,000.
How in the world did we get to the point where costs have escalated so far out of control? Should performing an appendectomy really be this expensive?
I can imagine that some of my readers may be thinking that the quality of care down in Mexico is much lower, but this is actually not the case at all. Here is more from David Hathaway…
My son was checked into a private room with private bath and satellite TV awaiting his surgery. The surgical staff was prepped and ready to start within an hour-and-a half of our arrival. The appendix was ruptured, so extra precautions were taken to clean and flush the abdominal cavity. Since the appendix was ruptured, the chief surgeon said that my son should stay two days to receive intravenous antibiotics to prevent the development of peritonitis.
The surgery was a success, and David’s son did stay in the hospital for two full days in order to receive the antibiotics that the doctor suggested.
But despite the extra time, the bill for the appendectomy was still less than 10 percent of what it would have been if the appendectomy had been performed in the United States…
The hospital stay was for 48 hours in a private room where my wife was allowed to spend the nights with my son sleeping on a couch in his room. This cost would have been significantly less if we hadn’t incurred emergency fees and if the appendectomy had not involved complications which required a longer stay and more medication. Despite all that, I though the total price of $2,830 dollars was very reasonable.
So why can’t we have hospitals like that on our side of the border?
This is yet another example that shows that Obamacare has got to go and that we need to get government out of the healthcare business.
We once had the greatest healthcare system in the history of the world, and we can do it again if we will just return to free market principles. Elections really matter, and we simply cannot allow the Democrats and the establishment Republicans to take us even further down the road of socialized medicine.
They have already turned our once great healthcare system into a giant disaster zone, and we need to show them the door before they can do even more damage.
The post Why Is An Appendectomy In The United States 10 Times More Expensive Than An Appendectomy In Mexico? appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.
This report was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse
This is what can happen when you go to a socialized healthcare system. A lot of people out there believe that the United States has a free market healthcare system, but that is actually not true. The percentage of the population that receives government-subsidized healthcare is rapidly approaching 50 percent, and the healthcare industry may be the most heavily regulated sector of the entire U.S. economy. Every year the rules, red tape and regulations seem to get even worse, and every year health insurance premiums rise much faster than the overall rate of inflation. If we don’t start applying free market principles and start getting healthcare costs under control, our entire healthcare system could very easily implode.
I would like to share with you an excerpt from an article by former DEA agent David Hathaway. According to Hathaway, the average cost for an appendectomy in the United States is $33,000…
My son had an attack of appendicitis late Saturday night. I knew that the Obamacare inflated prices for surgery in the U.S. would be ridiculous and that the service would likely be impersonal, involve long waits, and be nerve-wracking. I have friends in the medical field so I inquired just for grins. The price for the latest routine appendectomy in my area was, my jaw dropped, $43,000. I read on-line that the average cost for an appendectomy in the U.S. is $33,000. I am not near some of the great direct-pay medical facilities in the U.S. like the Surgery Center of Oklahoma, but I am near Mexico. I chose that option since I have often utilized foreign medical and dental facilities in the past and find the service and prices to be outstanding.
You can buy a very nice brand new car for $33,000.
How in the world did we get to the point where costs have escalated so far out of control? Should performing an appendectomy really be this expensive?
I can imagine that some of my readers may be thinking that the quality of care down in Mexico is much lower, but this is actually not the case at all. Here is more from David Hathaway…
My son was checked into a private room with private bath and satellite TV awaiting his surgery. The surgical staff was prepped and ready to start within an hour-and-a half of our arrival. The appendix was ruptured, so extra precautions were taken to clean and flush the abdominal cavity. Since the appendix was ruptured, the chief surgeon said that my son should stay two days to receive intravenous antibiotics to prevent the development of peritonitis.
The surgery was a success, and David’s son did stay in the hospital for two full days in order to receive the antibiotics that the doctor suggested.
But despite the extra time, the bill for the appendectomy was still less than 10 percent of what it would have been if the appendectomy had been performed in the United States…
The hospital stay was for 48 hours in a private room where my wife was allowed to spend the nights with my son sleeping on a couch in his room. This cost would have been significantly less if we hadn’t incurred emergency fees and if the appendectomy had not involved complications which required a longer stay and more medication. Despite all that, I though the total price of $2,830 dollars was very reasonable.
So why can’t we have hospitals like that on our side of the border?
This is yet another example that shows that Obamacare has got to go and that we need to get government out of the healthcare business.
We once had the greatest healthcare system in the history of the world, and we can do it again if we will just return to free market principles. Elections really matter, and we simply cannot allow the Democrats and the establishment Republicans to take us even further down the road of socialized medicine.
They have already turned our once great healthcare system into a giant disaster zone, and we need to show them the door before they can do even more damage.
Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.
If you want to know what is coming and what you can do to prepare, read his latest book Get Prepared Now!: Why A Great Crisis Is Coming.
This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse
Yes, this is a true story. I was completely shocked when I learned about this too, and this just underscores the importance of repealing the individual mandate immediately. Shortly after taking office, President Trump issued an executive order which was intended to move the IRS away from enforcing Obamacare’s individual mandate, but now the IRS has found a way around that executive order. According to the official AARP website, the IRS has announced that it will not process any tax returns from individuals that are not willing to disclose whether they currently have health insurance or not…
The Internal Revenue Service won’t process individual tax returns in 2018 unless taxpayers indicate whether they have health insurance coverage or an exemption.
The move, announced last month, reverses course from this year, when the IRS said it would not require filers to indicate on 1040 tax forms whether they had health insurance. Filers were still required to have medical insurance or pay a penalty, but the IRS accepted and processed returns even if taxpayers didn’t indicate coverage status.
So what this means is that you will not get your refund until you tell the IRS if you have health insurance.
And if you don’t have health insurance and you don’t qualify for an exemption, you could be hit with a very painful financial penalty.
Of course purchasing health insurance in some parts of the country is enough of a penalty as it is. For example, I recently wrote about a family of four in Virginia that is now facing the prospect of paying $3,000 a month for health insurance.
Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.
And it also turns out that the IRS is going back and sending threatening letters to those that didn’t indicate if they were covered or not on previous tax returns. Here is more from the AARP…
IRS spokesman Bruce Friedland said it followed a review of IRS procedures.
“The IRS has determined that it is more burdensome for taxpayers to allow them to file an incomplete tax return and then have to manage follow-up letters and potentially amend their return,’’ Friedland said. “Identifying omissions and requiring taxpayers to provide health coverage information at the point of filing makes it easier for the taxpayer to successfully file a tax return and minimizes related refund delays.”
In September, the IRS started sending letters to about 130,000 taxpayers who didn’t address the health care requirement on 2014 and 2015 tax returns.
So if you left that section of your tax return blank in previous years, you should be expecting a letter in the mail very soon.
At this point, many of you that are reading this article are probably starting to get very angry. After all, didn’t President Trump sign an executive order earlier this year that was going to end enforcement of the individual mandate?
Unfortunately, that was not the case at all. In fact, Politico is reporting that the Trump administration “is still dutifully enforcing Obamacare’s individual mandate”…
The Trump administration is still dutifully enforcing Obamacare’s individual mandate, despite early signals it might undermine the unpopular linchpin of the health care law.
Weeks after the close of tax season, the IRS continues to process penalties from potentially millions of taxpayers who refused to purchase health insurance last year.
That’s even though hours after taking office on Jan. 20, President Donald Trump issued a vaguely worded executive order instructing federal agencies to waive or defer parts of Obamacare that would “impose a fiscal burden” on states, individuals or health care providers.
Enough is enough.
Obamacare should have been repealed on the very first day of the Trump administration, but unfortunately the RINOs in Congress are going to keep blocking any effort to do that. Elections really matter, and in 2018 we need to kick out the RINOs and put in new leaders that are fully committed to a 100% repeal of Obamacare.
We also need to do something about the IRS. They have always been a rogue agency, but now they have gotten completely and totally out of control. I am running for Congress in Idaho’s first congressional district, and I believe that we should completely shut down the IRS.
The status quo is simply not acceptable. Obamacare is financially crippling families all across America, and we should be absolutely disgusted that Congress has not found a solution to this problem even though they have had almost an entire year to get something done.
Michael Snyder is a Republican candidate for Congress in Idaho’s First Congressional District, and you can learn how you can get involved in the campaign on his official website. His new book entitled “Living A Life That Really Matters” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com.
If you want to know what is coming and what you can do to prepare, read his latest book Get Prepared Now!: Why A Great Crisis Is Coming.
Hospitals are typically thought of as places where lives are saved, but statistics show they’re actually one of the most dangerous places you could possibly enter.1,2 Each day, more than 40,000 harmful and/or lethal medical errors occur, placing the patient in a worse situation than what they came in with.3
According to a 2013 study,4,5 preventable medical errors kill around 440,000 patients each year — more than 10 times the number of deaths caused by motor vehicle crashes. A 2016 study6 calculated the annual death toll to be around 250,000.
Either way, medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the U.S., and have been since at least 2000, when the late Dr. Barbara Starfield published her shocking conclusion that doctors kill 225,000 patients each year. Her findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.7 Ironically, Starfield ended up a statistic herself.
She died suddenly in June 2011, a death her husband attributed to the adverse effects of the blood thinner Plavix taken in combination with aspirin.8 Her death certificate, however, makes no mention of this possibility. Indeed, one of the reasons why many are still surprised by these statistics is due to fundamental flaws in the tracking of medical errors, which has shielded the reality of the situation and kept it out of the public eye.
While there are codes that capture iatrogenic causes of death, published mortality statistics do not take them into account. They only look at the condition that led the individual to seek medical treatment in the first place. As a result, even if a doctor lists medical errors in the death certificate, they are not included in the CDC’s mortality statistics, and without that data, medical mistakes remain a largely hidden problem.
Hospitals have become particularly notorious for spreading lethal infections. According to 2014 statistics9,10 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 25 patients end up with a hospital-acquired infection, and 75,000 people per year die as a result.11
Earlier research12 has suggested as many as 1 in 10 patients will contract a nosocomial infection, defined as an infection contracted within 48 hours of hospital admission, or within three days of discharge, or within 30 days of an operation. Medicare patients appear to be at greatest risk. According to the 2011 Health Grades Hospital Quality in America Study,13 1 in 9 Medicare patients developed a hospital-acquired infection.
The video above features the Discovery Channel documentary, “Shocking Medical Mistakes: The Empowered Patient,” originally aired in 2016. In it, medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen investigates medical mistakes and missed diagnoses, including some of her own experiences as a patient, and what you can do to become an empowered patient and reduce your risk when a hospital stay is necessary.
As mentioned in the video, medical mistakes occur every single day, and some are more serious than others. Cohen reveals 25 of the most shocking in the following countdown, and how you can protect yourself from becoming a statistic:
25. Baby security breach Since 1983, 132 newborns have been abducted from U.S. health care facilities. Safety tip: Make sure a parent or nurse is present with the child at all times while in the hospital. |
24. Fake doctors, aka “prestige fraud”14 Believe it or not, hundreds of individuals have been caught posing as doctors when, in fact, they did not have a medical degree. Safety tip: Make sure your doctor is a licensed physician in your state. For help, see CertificationMatters.org.15 |
23. Treating the wrong patient This mistake typically happens when patients have similar names and the doctor or nurse fails to double-check all of the patient’s data before administering treatment. Safety tip: Before every procedure, including drug administration, make sure the staff checks your full name, date of birth and the barcode on your wrist band, to ensure correct treatment. |
22. Pharmacy mix-ups According to the National Patient Safety Foundation, 30 million prescriptions are improperly dispensed each year in U.S. pharmacies. Safety tip: Before you leave the pharmacy, ask the pharmacist to confirm that the medication is the correct one, especially if you’re unfamiliar with the look of the pills, and that you’ve received the correct dosage. Also verify that the label has your name on it. |
21. Botched plastic surgery Any number of things can go wrong when you go under the knife, and death is a potential side effect even of plastic surgery. Safety tip: Make sure your surgeon is certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery. You may also want to check whether your surgeon has any malpractice suits filed against him or her. Most state medical boards provide this information free of charge. You can find a list of state medical boards on the Federation of State Medical Boards website.16 Another source is the Administrators in Medicine,17 a nonprofit organization that compiles licensing and disciplinary information from each state’s medical board. |
20. Incorrect drug dosages One of the most frequent mistakes occur in pediatrics. A child given an adult dose of a medication can have life-threatening consequences. According to the Joint Commission, hospital personnel stock medication in the wrong places 4 percent of the time, which can lead to incorrect dosage or drug being administered if the nurse or doctor fails to carefully inspect the package before administration. Safety tip: Ask for a daily list of medication and dosages that you are supposed to receive during your hospital stay, and double-check each medication before taking it or allowing it to be administered. |
19. Toxic transplants As noted by transplant surgeon Dr. Lloyd Ratner, any given organ donor could be a carrier of one of several thousands of pathogens. The case highlighted in the video is that of an 18-year-old kidney recipient who died of rabies. It turns out the organ donor had been bitten by an infected bat. All of the organ recipients contracted rabies from the infected organs and died. In the U.S., more than 100 organ recipients have died from toxic transplants. Safety tip: If you become sicker after receiving a transplant, ask if other recipients are also getting ill. Early diagnosis and treatment may save your life. |
18. Improper or careless discharge A man having just undergone brain surgery is packed into a cab, which drops him off in an unfamiliar neighborhood on a rainy day wearing nothing but a hospital gown and socks. When he was too confused to remember his own address, two Samaritans eventually got him home safely. Safety tip: If you’re scheduled for surgery, find out when you’re scheduled for discharge ahead of time and make sure someone you know is there to take you home. |
17. Ambulance errors Any number of errors can occur on the way to the hospital, but first the ambulance must actually get to you. Patients have died due to the ambulance being dispatched to an incorrect address. Safety tip: When calling for an ambulance, if possible, slowly and clearly state and spell the street address. |
16. Lost patients This typically occurs in nursing home facilities, where dementia patients may wander off the premises. One in 5 nursing home patients is prone to wandering. In one case, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s was found after a four-day-long manhunt, locked inside a storage closet on the premises. She died shortly thereafter from dehydration. Safety tip: If you have a loved one who is prone to wander, get them a GPS bracelet so you can track their whereabouts. |
15. Surgical “souvenirs” Surgical sponges, steel clamps and surgical retractors are but a few of the items that have been left inside patients undergoing surgery. According to one estimate, 2 in 10,000 surgical patients come out of surgery with a “souvenir” left inside. Safety tip: Before surgery, remind hospital staff to count the number of items used, to make sure all surgical items are accounted for before you’re stitched up. Should you experience unexpected fever, pain or swelling following your surgery, ask your doctor to double-check if equipment has accidentally been left inside you. |
14. Babies accidentally switched after birth As with patients receiving the wrong treatment, this mistake typically occurs if two mothers have the same or similar name. Safety tip: When a nurse brings your baby, ask him or her to match the baby’s identification bracelet to yours. |
13. Deadly air bubbles A young man dies when a nurse fails to follow proper procedure for removal of a central line tube in his chest, allowing air to enter his bloodstream. In one hospital intensive care unit, improperly removed central lines caused 10 air embolisms in a single year. Safety tip: If you have a central line, before removal, confirm the proper procedure is about to be followed. A copy of the nursing protocol for the removal of central lines can be found on ctsnet.org.18 Standard procedure protocols for central line removal in adults and pediatrics can also be found on health.ucsd.edu.19 |
12. Misdiagnosis Research suggests misdiagnoses may occur in 10 percent of all cases. Safety tip: Trust your instincts. If you believe your doctor has missed something or misdiagnosed you, get a second opinion. |
11. Receiving the wrong blood type during transfusion During surgery, you will typically need a blood transfusion. The blood you receive — A, B or O, positive or negative — must match yours, as your body will interpret mismatched blood as a foreign invader. One of every 19,000 units of blood is incorrectly administered in the U.S. Safety tip: Know your blood type and, if possible, verify that the blood bags you’re about to receive are a match. If you cannot see the bags ahead of time, ask hospital staff to verify they have your blood type correct prior to surgery. |
10. Surgical equipment causing internal burns A malfunction in the monitoring cable inserted through the heart during a routine bypass surgery causes the cable to heat up, cooking part of the patient’s heart, causing irreparable damage. It sounds unbelievable, but it happened. The patient had to receive a full heart transplant. Lasers and flammable gases used in surgery can also cause unexpected burns. These kinds of errors are typically the result of multiple mistakes, not just one. Still, some 240 surgical fires are reported in American hospitals each year. Safety tip: If undergoing surgery, ask what type of equipment will be used, and how you will be protected from lasers, cables and flammable gases. |
9. Medical tube mix-ups Feeding tubes and central line tubes look a lot alike, but knowing which is which is absolutely crucial when it comes time to administer nutrients or medication through the feeding tube. In the example shown in the video, medication meant for a young child’s stomach was administered into her vein, via the central line. The child died. Sixteen percent of doctors and nurses report being aware of tube mix-ups happening at their hospitals. Safety tip: If you have more than one tube, ask medical staff to trace the tube back to its site of origin, each and every time a medication is administered to ensure the correct one is being used. |
8. Switched biopsies As many as 1 in 1,000 lab specimens is mislabeled. One 35-year-old woman got a double mastectomy due to her biopsy being switched with another woman’s. She got a second opinion, but the error was not caught because the second doctor simply based his findings on the original, mixed-up lab work. Safety tip: If in doubt, ask to have the biopsy repeated and/or get a second (or third) opinion. |
7. Receiving the wrong eggs in fertility treatment Women undergoing fertility treatment face the unusual possibility of receiving the wrong woman’s eggs. In one case, eggs from two women with the same last name were accidentally switched. In this instance, the woman carried the baby to term, then adopted the baby boy out to his real parents. Safety tip: Be very careful in your selection of a fertility clinic. Make sure the clinic is accredited by the College of American Pathologists. |
6. Operating on the wrong body part In the U.S., an estimated seven patients undergo surgery on the wrong body part each and every day. Safety tip: Before surgery, confirm the correct location of the surgery — both body part and side — with the nurse and surgeon. Also make sure the surgeon has clearly marked the correct site. Considering the frequency at which this mistake occurs, do not be shy about doing this. |
5. Unsafe radiation Incorrectly programmed and calibrated CT scans can deliver an unsafe dose of radiation. The video shows three patients whose CT scans resulted in the loss of hair in a ring around their head. It turns out the machine was incorrectly calibrated, delivering eight times the normal dose of radiation. These patients now also face the possibility of getting brain cancer at some point in the future. Safety tip: Whenever possible, opt for an ultrasound or MRI instead of a CT scan, as they do not use ionizing radiation to produce the image. |
4. Hospital-acquired infections Not only will 1 in 25 hospital patients contract an infection, many of these infectious pathogens are now resistant to all antibiotics. Antibiotic overuse, especially in agriculture, has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Hospital-acquired infections kill 75,000 patients each year in the U.S. — a death toll that could be significantly reduced simply by following proper handwashing protocols. Doctors and nurses should wash their hands and/or change gloves between each patient. Patients should also wash their hands frequently. Safety tip: Each time hospital staff enters your room, ask them to wash their hands and change gloves. Bacteria can spread from their hands to tables, bed rails, bedding, wound dressings, catheters and, of course, your skin if they touch you. You may then contract the bacteria if you touch a contaminated area. |
3. Metal in the MRI room An MRI machine is an exceptionally powerful magnet, which is why no metals are allowed to be brought into the room. In one case, a hospital worker walks into the MRI room carrying an oxygen tank while a young boy is getting scanned. The tank flies across the room, delivering a lethal blow to the boy’s head. While exceedingly rare, an investigation reveals it is not the sole case on record. Safety tip: When getting an MRI, make sure there is no metal on, in or around you, anywhere in the room. Metal implants must be reported prior to getting an MRI. |
2. Excessive emergency room wait times Emergency rooms are normally busy places, and personnel must make hundreds if not thousands of potentially critical decisions each day. It can be easy to miss the signs of critical illness, especially if the condition is rare. In one case, a five-hour wait resulted in a baby girl requiring amputation of both hands and legs, as personnel failed to realize the critical nature of her condition. It turns out her body was being ravaged by flesh-eating bacteria. According to the CDC, the average emergency room wait time is 49 minutes. Safety tip: If you suspect you or a loved one is in critical condition and need immediate attention, call your family physician before or on the way to the hospital, and ask him or her to call the emergency room on your behalf. This way, the staff know you’re on your way and that it’s truly serious. |
1. Waking up during surgery (anesthesia awareness) Last but not least, a nightmare come true: You wake up during surgery and feel every poke, prod and cut, but cannot move or make a sound. “Anesthesia awareness,” the technical term for waking up during surgery, happens when you receive an inadequate dose of anesthesia, allowing your brain to remain aware while paralyzing your muscles. Here, the statistics are discouraging: 1 in 1,000 patients reportedly suffer anesthesia awareness. Fortunately, most of these do not feel pain. Safety tip: If you need surgery, ask your surgeon if you really need anesthesia or if a local anesthetic would be sufficient. |
Once you’re hospitalized, you’re immediately at risk for medical errors, so one of the best safeguards is to have someone there with you. Dr. Andrew Saul has written an entire book on the issue of safeguarding your health while hospitalized. Frequently, you’re going to be relatively debilitated, especially post-op when you’re under the influence of anesthesia, and you won’t have the opportunity to see the types of processes that are going on. This is particularly important for pediatric patients and the elderly.
It’s important to have a personal advocate present to ask questions and take notes. For every medication given in the hospital, ask questions such as: “What is this medication? What is it for? What’s the dose?” Most people, doctors and nurses included, are more apt to go through that extra step of due diligence to make sure they’re getting it right if they know they’ll be questioned about it.
If someone you know is scheduled for surgery, you can print out the World Health Organization’s surgical safety checklist and implementation manual,20 which is part of the campaign “Safe Surgery Saves Lives.” The checklist can be downloaded free of charge here. If a loved one is in the hospital, print it out and bring it with you, as this can help you protect your family member or friend from preventable errors in care.
Article republished from Mercola.com.
The post 25 Most Shocking Medical Mistakes, and How You Can Protect Yourself (VIDEO) appeared first on The Sleuth Journal.
