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When
the auto first began challenging the horse about a
century ago, every driver needed expertise as a part-time
mechanic. Now we have cars that nearly park themselves.
Driving has been steadily deskilled. And the process
continues as manufacturers compete to make car ownership
a more carefree experience.
Modern medicine was born at approximately the same time
as the automobile, but has progressed in the opposite
direction. Greater complexity has resulted in increasing
demands being placed on us, the ultimate users. Sometimes
it is so confusing that we forget who’s driving.
In both autos and medicines, those trends are accelerating.
That’s good news for car buyers. But it creates
an ongoing, growing challenge for us, whether we are
sick or well. There is little movement toward development
of a human version of the diagnostic chip already embedded
in most new cars, where you simply plug it into a computer
and instantly learn what’s wrong and what needs
to be done.
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Jessie
Gruman
President
and Executive Director
Center for the
Advancement of Health
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When personal rather than automotive health is involved,
advances in medicine and changes in health care require
that we actively take the wheel and shoulder considerable
new responsibility if we are to fully benefit from them.
Consider:
- New drugs can extend and improve the lives of
those with diabetes, asthma, cancer, and
HIV/AIDS – but only if taken as prescribed.
- Improved surgical techniques mean that patients
are
sicker when they go home, often requiring care by
family and friends.
- New treatments mean that different approaches can
produce similar outcomes but pose risks of different
side effects -- so making an informed decision means
we
must master complex information.
- Byzantine relationships among doctors, hospitals,
diagnostic and laboratory services and health plans
mean that we must take on many administrative tasks
ourselves to provide needed coordination.
- The impact of smoking, physical activity, diet,
environmental exposure on health has sparked
widespread belief that each of us has a responsibility
to act to prevent disease to the extent we are able.
These tasks aren’t necessarily challenging for
all of us, but they’re not intuitive either.
The consequences of not performing them are considerable
for individuals, for their families and for the system
as a whole, resulting in needless suffering and expense.
Today’s system is flawed by both by a failure
to recognize the size and scope of the transformation
it
expects from us, coupled with our slowness in acknowledging
traditional role of a passive, compliant patient is
too risky to continue.
Sure, there are Websites and pamphlets and various
tools that can inform us once we know the questions
to ask.
But before we are willing to dive for details, most
of us want know what these new responsibilities are,
what
we gain by taking them on and what we lose by not doing
so. And then many of us will need help to actually
perform these new tasks well.
The potential impact of modern medicine will be muted
unless we participate actively in our care – and
our own safety and health depend on us doing so competently.
Waiting for us to figure out what is at stake for us
is a bad use of our time. And most of us can’t
afford a chauffeur.
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The Health Behavior News Service regularly distributes
stories summarizing new research on health behavior
issues. These stories can be found online at http://www.cfah.org/hbns/current.cfm.
Here
are some stories released in January:
OTC Cough Medicine: Not Worthwhile for Children or Adults?
Alert parents know that small children should not take over-the-counter cough
medications. Now researchers say the stuff might not help adults much, either.
Cranberries Might Help Prevent Urinary Infections in Women
Evidence supports drinking cranberry juice — a familiar home remedy — to
treat urinary tract infection (UTI), according to a new review from Scotland.
NSAIDs No Better Than Other Over-the-Counter Drugs for Low Back Pain
When low back pain strikes, many people turn to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
drugs (NSAIDs), like naproxen and ibuprofen, or their newer COX-2 inhibitor cousin
Celebrex. However, these drugs work no better than old faithful acetaminophen
(Tylenol), according to a new review of studies.
Anemia Drugs and Stimulants Ease Exhaustion in Some Cancer Patients
Drugs that promote red blood cell production and stimulants typically used to
treat attention deficit disorder relieve excessive tiredness in cancer patients,
according to a new systematic review of studies.
Arthritic Knees Remain Painful After Arthroscopic Surgery
Trimming damaged tissue through arthroscopic surgery does not relieve pain and
swelling in arthritic knees any better than simply flushing loose debris from
the joint, according to a new review of evidence.
Herbal Remedy Useful for Heart Failure, Review Finds
Adding another twist to the ongoing debate over the value of an herbal treatment
for patients with heart failure, a new review of existing research suggests that
hawthorn extract “significantly” improves symptoms.
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