THE MEDIAL SYSTEM:
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA, July 2000)
(see TOP TEN causes of death)
Dr. Barbara Starfield of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene
and Public Health described how the US health care system may
contribute to poor health.
ALL THESE ARE DEATHS PER YEAR:
12,000 ----- unnecessary surgery
7,000 ----- medication errors in hospitals
20,000 ----- other errors in hospitals
80,000 ----- infections in hospitals
106,000 ----- non-error, negative effects of drugs
These total to 250,000 deaths per year from iatrogenic causes!
What does the word iatrogenic mean? This term is defined as induced in a
patient by a physician's activity, manner, or therapy. Used especially of a
complication of treatment.
These estimates of death due to error are lower than those in a recent
Institutes of Medicine report, and if the higher estimates are used, the
deaths due to iatrogenic causes would range from 230,000 to 284,000.
Even at the lower estimate of 225,000 deaths per year, this constitutes the
third leading cause of death in the US, following heart disease and cancer.
The large Reuters wire service did not pick up this information. Instead of
front-page headlines we have seen a series of attacks against herbs and
nutritional supplements on ABC's Nightline and 20/20 and other major media
outlets throughout this year. That, and baseless attacks on organic foods
and produce. Medical lobbyists and doctors and medical industry
spokespersons, along with high level media personalities, broadly exclaimed
that nutritional products could "kill you".
There is FAR too much ad-fueled blarney along with anti-consumer attitudes that end up slanting media stories.
In the absence of new Lewinski-type titillating drivel the US media makes a HUGE deal about TIRES, GUNS, and even crime... and somehow they get the congress to REACT. That, while NBC's Katie Couric brags about using Equal, and proclaims cow's milk and dairy to be great substances, and others rail against SOY, and even organically grown foods.
Can you spare a few minutes to give them a piece of your mind? Ask them where they lost their journalistic integrity.
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Or pick on someone in congress... and ask THEM to do the right thing!
Now... how much misplaced faith do YOU have in the FDA, your doctor and HIS industry-fueled and suported "medical system"?
(Think organizations like the American Diabetes Assn. with 123 million in donations mostly from industry [over 250,000 from Monsanto] of which almost NOTHING is spent for *PREVENTION*!)
It's YOUR table, YOUR gut, and YOUR life...
take some responsibility for it!
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