More Preventive Medicine

In regard to Ann Donahue’s story (“Crisis in Health Care,” May 17): The battle continues. Shall we go back to the old days when doctors over-prescribed and over-treated, and no one (even payors like employers) had any say in the delivery of health care? Doctors continue to balk at being more productive, which would bring down the cost of health care dramatically. Most doctors do not want to delegate responsibilities. Few will give up charting and paperwork and delegate it to others.

A few doctors have learned to be more productive, and can handle 50 to 80 patients a day. Their colleagues say these doctors run “patient mills,” yet their patients have less waiting time and more quality time with the doctor. Doctors have to get out of the dark ages. They jumped into the practice management companies to make a bundle selling their practices and hoped to make a killing in the stock market, but refused to be managed by the practice management companies.

More health screenings don’t make people any healthier, they just find more disease for doctors to treat. Where are the incentives for patients to stay healthy? When will doctors live up to their oath and begin to practice preventive medicine?

The HMOs took our health care dollars, made obscene profits for awhile, the price of their stocks soared, their owners made millions, all off of our money! Now the HMOs can’t squeeze any more profits out of the system without rationing care. Patients continue to demand treatments that are unproven (prostate cancer surgery doesn’t reduce mortality rates, breast cancer patients want bone marrow transplants and more mammograms).

Where do we go from here? Donahue’s article is revealing but does not get to the heart of the matter. Stop pointing fingers at HMOs and develop a new health care system that encourages patients to stay healthy.

BILL SARDI

San Dimas