How involved should you be in your own healthcare program?

1. 82

   catsimmonsposted 12 years ago

   How involved should you be in your own healthcare program?
   
   With all the information out there these days, do you think that this should give you more influence over the healthcare treatment you receive?
   
   

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2. 60

   Dave Mathewsposted 12 years ago

   Totally involved would be a good idea after all it is your body and your health. Why permit third party interference in your personal health.

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3. 80

   Aquatic Guruposted 12 years ago

   I know Doctors obtain a high level of education and research and having a physician that you feel comfortable with and trust is a big plus concerning a person's healthcare. I would also have to say though that a person who is fully capable of making sound decisions should be in complete control of their own healthcare program. I do a lot of my own research and if my doctor makes a decision about my healthcare I don't hesitate to tell him if I agree or disagree with him. Another problem I see is that insurance companies often get the last say as to what treatment they will or will not allow if you rely on your insurance to help with costs. I do not agree with government run healthcare.. Often times we do not have or are limited to the types of healthcare plans and treatments we can pursue for ourselves. We all should have the right to choose our own healthcare program and make decisions about options based on our healthcare needs. I know myself better than anyone.  I do understand that medicare etc. helps people  with certain disadvantages. but still a person should have a right to choose their own treatment plans. There are some fine lines to really think about when it comes to this subject.

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4. 82

   Attikosposted 12 years ago

   The US medical system is evolving rapidly toward a paradigm in which doctors are merely the smiley faces on a database. More and more, they are required to run the standard tests, interpret them in the standard way, make the standard recommendations, and prescribe the standard remedies. You may as well be dealing with a computer program.
   
   In fact, you can. There are numerous Websites that will translate your symptoms into a diagnosis. Go to a clinic, pay a hundred and fifty bucks, and you can get the same result.
   
   The lesson from this is that if you're not your own doctor, you're at the mercy of an increasingly impersonal, bureaucratic system that merely follows the rules laid down for it by authorities on high. Such systems are never as effective as they're supposed to be, and they are inevitably subject to manipulation by persons with power whose agendae do not necessarily mesh well with yours. The wise ones among us will therefore be deeply involved in their own healthcare. After all, you can't trust the established system, and what is at stake is your life. Do it yourself, or take the consequences.

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