Health Care Trends

This article is going to talk about some alarming statistics, and some new healthier trends in modern health care. Over the past few years, many non-medical treatments have become very popular as a substitute for, or complement to traditional medical care. A 1993 study in the New England Journal of Medicine stated that 425 million visits to “unconventional” practitioners were made in 1990, compared with only 388 million visits to traditional medical doctors. The vast majority of these visits were to doctors of chiropractic. A second study in June 1997 in Archives of Family Medicine, also documented the enormous rise in non-medical treatments. Again the most commonly used practitioner was a chiropractor. Based on these statistics, it is fair to say that these unconventional treatments are more popular than many medical treatments.

Many people are beginning to question whether modern medicine is truly allowing people to lead a healthier life. Based on some recent research some are beginning to question the science, effectiveness, and safety of medicine. Dr. David Eddy, professor of health policy at Duke University, stated that only 15% of medical treatments have a scientific foundation for use. This same percentage has been applied to everyday surgical procedures, as well as medical evidence for various treatments. A recent Harvard study revealed that medical malpractice is the third leading cause of death in the United States. A study by the Journal of the American Medical Association reported in 1994 that 180,000 people die each year as a direct result of medical treatments, regardless of their original illness or disease. To put this number into perspective, it would be the equivalent of two full loaded jumbo jets crashing every day for an entire year! I have to believe that people would think twice about flying the friendly skies.

Please bear in mind that the point of this article is not to bash medicine, but rather to share results from research some by the medical community on various topics. It is not intended to curse the darkness, but to try to show people a light. Medicine is important and helpful, but not always necessary and works best in emergency situations. Chiropractic is certainly not a cure-all, but it’s approach is preventative and is best used when one includes other preventative lifestyle habits, such as eating right, exercising regularly, drinking plenty of clean water, and having a positive perspective on life. Health is a lifelong journey, it is not based on luck, it is based on careful planning and being responsible for ones health.