Comments on: Robin Hanson on Doctors

by: lasser83

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 02:54:53 +0000

I apologize for misrepresenting Seth Roberts. Looking back it, I think Roberts argued in a previous post that the profit motive should be more limited in health care (wall street shouldn’t make all of the decisions on health care).

That is much different than what I claimed above.

by: Stephen M (Ethesis)

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 22:39:12 +0000

You are right, consider Curtis’ recent diet:

To fix it, she dropped 20 pounds by giving up “fattening” foods that most Americans would consider relatively healthy – like crackers, bread and granola, which have white flour and sugar and are surprisingly high in fat. She hopes American women will learn from her example.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20185529,00.html

by: Tom

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:17:14 +0000

I think Taubes is moving the culture — not as dramatically as with “Big Fat Lie”, but perhaps more lastingly.

“Good Calories, Bad Calories” is beginning to get into the groundwater.

by: Stephen M (Ethesis)

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 20:07:15 +0000

I ended up at a Wal-Mart clinic this last vacation, due to an emergency and it was a seamless experience. I was impressed.

BTW, Taubes ought to just write a fiction novel. White Death and interleave factoids about medicine with a codebreaker on the run from unknown enemies who turn out to be cardiologists in league with flour and sugar manufacturers … treat the misfeasance in diet as intentional malfeasance.

Makes a much easier way to get across the real problem.

by: seth

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:46:47 +0000

“I know Seth Roberts disagrees with this.” ??? I agree with your suggestions. More transparency with costs and doctor performance and more competition are excellent ideas, well worth testing. I’m for more empowerment of everyone else involved, including nurses, hospital administrators, and especially the rest of us, before and after we get sick. My self-experimentation was a way of taking my health care into my own hands.

by: lasser83

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 00:32:26 +0000

I know Seth Roberts disagrees with this, but I strongly believe the health care industry needs to be run more like a business.

There needs to be more transparency with costs and doctor performance. And there desperately needs to be more competition. Screw the AMA and their lawyers, Walmart should be able to open clinics.

by: Heidi 555

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 23:13:44 +0000

I am in the middle of reading Shannon Brownlee’s book “Overtreated” and I highly recommend it. More people need to be made aware of how the medical profession operates. And thus be allowed more conscious choice and freedom in their healthcare decision making process. Perhaps Robin could be persuaded to put a lecture or transcript online.

by: lasser83

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 18:11:07 +0000

It is interesting how the AMA is winning the public relations battle.

The public is quick to blame everyone in the health care industry, with the exception of the doctors.

by: Brandon W

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:52:02 +0000

When I first started in the California Workers’ Compensation industry in 1993, I thought the shady people were the attorneys. I now know it is the doctors. In my opinion, somewhere over the last 30 years or so making a really good living as a doctor no longer was enough. Now, many doctors attempt to maximize their earning potential. As soon as that bridge was crossed, healthcare costs exploded and patient care suffered.

by: Robin Hanson

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 17:26:21 +0000

Wow - I’m very flattered!