News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Is Preventive Medicine Its Own Health Risk? by protonfish on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @03:59PM (#8725700)
So your logic is: The US is spending nearly a fifth of their GDP on medicine, it has no effect on chronic conditions. Therefore that is a good thing and we should continue.

I think I am missing something.

Re:Is Preventive Medicine Its Own Health Risk? by akiselev on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @04:19PM (#8725833)
The money we spend may not have an effect on chronic condition occurrence rates but it does have an effect on people, which is the entire point of healthcare. No amount of money spent on an obese patient will change their eating habits; only the patient can do that of their own free will. However, that money will keep them alive longer and drastically increase their quality of life despite the negative impacts of their behavior.

Are you saying you'd rather be in Kenya, where you have almost zero options for improving your quality of life, given a disease that is for all intents and purposes permanent?

Re:Is Preventive Medicine Its Own Health Risk? by thirdtruck on Tuesday December 09, 2014 @04:19PM (#8725831)
The OP didn't say anything about how much should be spent; they only said how much. One implication is that we're spending it wrong.