america

Dietary Goals of the United States

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I have previously written about  Dr. McDougall through finding his newsletter in a Google Search where he discussed how to protect yourself from abusive doctors. See http://blog.teethremoval.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-abusive-doctors/. Earlier this year I also discussed in a post some of Dr. McDougalls thought’s on Food, Children, and Diet where he wrote to governor Rick Scott of Florida claiming that various food industries are engaged in child abuse. In his newsletter from October 2012, he discussed former democratic senator George McGovern and his McGovern report from 1977 where guideline for eating were developed, http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/oct/mcgovern.htm. Dr. McDougall says that the McGovern report says “…there is a great deal of evidence and it continues to accumulate, which strongly implicates and, in some instances, proves that the major causes of death and disability in the United States are related to the diet we eat…What are the … Read more

Anti Affordable Care Act (Anti ObamaCare) Ads with Uncle Sam

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In the United States, with the ObamaCare exchanges set to go live on Tuesday and the looming government shutdown also set for Tuesday, I wanted to draw your attention to some recent ads you may have missed. Now I came across these ads watching Real time with Bill Maher last week, where Bill plays one of the ads on his program and discusses it. The videos are designed to deter young people from signing up for the ObamaCare exchanges and do so by featuring a young man and a young woman about to undergo prostate and pelvic exams. The ads are from from Generation Opportunity, a Virginia-based group with ties to the Koch brothers. I have embedded the two ads below and they both show two young college age students who have their first doctors appointment using the new ObamaCare … Read more

How does the U.S. Health Care System Differ From Other OECD Countries

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An interesting article written by Victor R. Fuchs titled “How and Why US Health Care Differs From That in Other OECD Countries” appears in JAMA, January 2, 2013,Vol 309, No. 1, pp. 33-34.  The article attempts to discuss the difference between the U.S. Healthcare system and other countries in the  Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). One way they differ is that the healthcare expenditures in the U.S. are twice as high. A second way they differ is that the share of expenditures funded by the U.S. government is lower. Most OECD countries have a tax-supported system healthcare system that is able to have lower administrative costs and is able to negotiate costs more aggressively with drug companies and physicians. Thirdly, there are differences in care with the U.S. being more technology intensive such as with MRIs. The author … Read more

Should There Be a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban

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An interesting article is written by Lia Mulligan titled “You Can’t Say That on Television: Constitutional Analysis of a Direct-to-Consumer Pharmaceutical Advertising Ban,” which appeared in the 2011 issue of the American Journal of Law and Medicine (vol. 37, pages 444-467). In the article it is mentioned that the average american will watch around 16 hours of pharmaceutical advertisements on TV a year. As mentioned I believe before on this blog the U.S. and New Zealand are the only 2 countries in the world that even allow direct to consumer pharmaceutical advertising (DTCA). I personally do not like this type of advertising and neither do some of my friends. We often make fun of the advertisements when they come on TV as they sometimes can be quite silly. The article mentions in 1969 when the FDA first issued regulations for … Read more

Health Care Costs in America

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I came across a very interesting graphic illustrating many of the myths and facts about healthcare in the United States. The graphic illustrates some reasons for the high costs of healthcare including the myths and the truths. The myths include 1) americans smoke and drink too much, 2) america has a larger elderly population, 3) obseity in america skyrockets costs, 4) malpractice is out of control. I actually slightly disagree with #3 and #4. I think being obese in the U.S. is a real problem, see this graph from the OECD. Further one has to account for defensive medicine (as in doctors being scared of getting sued  and ordering more tests than really needed) in malpractice lawsuits. Graph below illustrates the % obese in each country shown. Source: OECD Factbook 2010: Economic, Environmental and Social Statistics. I believe the truths … Read more