[Vision2020] America's Health Care is a National Disgrace

[Paul Rumelhart]

g. crabtree wrote:

> Mr. Rumelhart you are right. How could a lowly "couch potato" actually 
> have any valid input into his own health care. I'm certain that we, as 
> patients, will all be much better off if we just shuffled through the 
> doctors offices like the mindless sheep that we apparently are. The 
> very idea that, as informed consumers, we could possibly have any 
> insight into our own treatment is ridicules. Best we simply sit back 
> and do as we are told by our betters. Perhaps it would be a good idea 
> to apply this principle to all aspects of our pathetic little lives 
> and joyfully accept whatever the powers that be command us to do. The 
> very idea of imposing on the great and powerful physician, by 
> suggesting that a product that we were made aware of, whether it be 
> through a TV or magazine ad or research done by whatever means,  might 
> be of benefit to us is, clearly, overstepping the bounds. His having 
> to actually explain why it might not be the best course of treatment 
> is clearly placing far too large a burden on the already beleaguered 
> MD. (we probably wouldn't be able to understand anyway) People who 
> suggest that patients participate in their own health care are, 
> obviously, misguided. Thank you for helping me see the matter more 
> clearly. I is obveusly two dum to halve a valid opinyun in this mater.


Whatever.  If you really want to believe that you know more about health 
care than a trained physician based on a 30-second advertisement, well, 
it's your funeral.

Just to be clear, I'm including myself in the population of people who 
would be better off letting the trained professionals do their jobs.  
I'm not trying to say that people are stupid and physicians are smart.  
It's just that they spent many years learning this stuff and working 
with it on a day-to-day basis.  I just trust them in general more than a 
self-serving pharmaceutical marketing department.  Your mileage may vary.

Paul