What Are the Dangers of Blindly Trusting Medical Professionals?

[gleem]

TL;DR Summary

We may know more about our car, or computer than we know about our own bodies. We should take responsibility for learning those things pertinent to our own health. So much information is readily available to make reasonably informed decisions. Included below is an article relevant to individuals of varying ages.

I found this article (podcast with transcripts) summarizing medical studies that should be of interest to many persons. The link is below. Although meant for healthcare professionals, It should be accessible to any intelligent persons interested in their health. It gives some current insights into issues with statins, COVID treatments, and the problems with a scarcity of intravenous contrast agents.

The narrator is a progressive cardiologist, meaning for me at least is savvy and thoughtful about the implementation of new medical study results, the way I think all physicians should be. Most physicians IMHO are "cookbook" practitioners which require less thinking and time.

I would like to point out that again IMO most people do not fully participate in the management of their medical care. We are all different and while many or most fall within the expected group to which a standard procedure may be significantly beneficial, some do not and may benefit more from an alternate approach, modification of the standard, or non at all.

We tend to let others make decisions for us based on their observations and our usually general or vague recollections of our state of health. If medical practice were perfect then this might be fine but it is not. Practitioners may not read your complete medical history, but IKFAF that they don't always. They may ignore pertinent information presented by you. They usually do not want to spend more time with a patient than to have the patient accept the procedure in their schedule as symptoms dictate. Enough ranking on medical practice.

Unless you are knowledgeable of your condition and can anticipate the reluctance of the physician to listen take someone along with you when you visit. Even otherwise knowledgeable patients often do not hear or forget what the physician says regarding diagnosis or treatments. You should be able to discuss with the practitioner^* your condition and relevant procedures or medication with understanding giving you the best result based on your specifications.

WRT the article it might be better to read the transcript since the jargon used in the video is explained or more intelligible in the transcript.

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticl...80b6&af_xp=custom&af_force_deeplink=true#vp_1

This and similar articles are available from Medscape ( https://www.medscape.com/public/about ) a service of WebMD.

^* I used practitioner instead of physician since it is becoming more common to see a physician's assistant or nurse practitioner.

 

[BillTre]

I strongly endorse this approach toward being a well informed patient.
I have a strong (but non-medical) background in biology.
As a result I am pretty aggressive in the pursuit of understanding what is going on with medical treatments.

Until my parents got sick I did not think too much about the awareness of others toward medical awareness, but now I go along with a lot of people to their doctor appointments and elicit better information transfer from the medical staff.
I enjoy doing this, the patients appreciate having a better understanding of things (which I can usually explain pretty well), and sometimes the doctors like it too (such as when I point out symptoms that patient might forget when in the office).

Basically, if something is not making complete sense to you, ask about it until you have a satisfying explanation.

 

[gleem]

Yes, I too have relatives who have seen physicians by themselves and when asked for details of their visit could not fully answer questions about the visit.

One should begin to acquire some medical knowledge early before it is needed especially with regard to those conditions for which you or your loved ones are most likely to be afflicted. Knowing your family history is important since many diseases have genetic predispositions. Being open about your own medical issues with your children will be of value to them. Getting baseline tests performed at an early age will help with later diagnoses. Find out which should be done and when and standards change e.g., the colorectal screening for colon cancer should be done earlier now, the age has been dropped from age 50 to 45 as of last year. Some of these tests are not particularly pleasant but rolling the dice may prove even more so. Younger people should consider regular physicals with blood work so that they can be given a heads-up on possible health issues like high blood pressure and diabetes which are so prevalent today. Maybe they can avoid those problems.

 

[PeroK]

Younger people should consider regular physicals with blood work so that they can be given a heads-up on possible health issues like high blood pressure and diabetes which are so prevalent today. Maybe they can avoid those problems.

Or, they could take regular exercise and avoid eating vast quantities of junk food.

 

[gleem]

Or, they could take regular exercise and avoid eating vast quantities of junk food

Yes and we all are told what the best course of lifestyle we should follow is, It seems to me that there is a good percentage of the population that does not access the information that is readily available. The are others that may be highly influenced by cultural attitudes. Many just like the way they are living too much. And then the usual excuse is "I don't have the time" or "I'll start tomorrow".

It was not my original intention to call attention to the effects of a bad lifestyle although prevention is truly the best medicine but to prepare oneself for the eventuality of failing health or old age so that the quality of the remaining years continues to be at least acceptable. However, some patient with treatment issues may abandon their care prematurely to their detriment. I believe a well-informed person has every right to choose whatever suits them. BTW, although important for older persons, even younger persons might consider a living will or advanced directive before their family is burdened with difficult decisions.

While my initial post was in reference to learning what to expect for a health care issue, another important aspect is where this will occur. While one is (was) young one rarely thought of medical care since except for an unexpected accident we felt immortal. We could live anywhere with the knowledge that if anything happened we could at least be medivaced to a suitable medical facility. When health fails, it often does so incrementally meaning one is admitted to a local hospital and depending on the affliction may be fine. However, many community or rural hospitals are not equipped or staffed with all the necessary resources. Then you are referred to a more suitable, often distant institution when one's care becomes fragmented and coordination of care can be a problem. So research your healthcare systems. BTW pay attention to patient reviews of practitioners when available. While some poor reviews may be due to the patient's attitude if the practitioner's total rating is three out of five stars that may be a signal to look somewhere else.