It is reported in the WSJ today that the Vice Chairman of the Federal Government Rationing Board, the AHRQ, has said:
"Diana Petitti, a professor in biomedical informatics at Arizona State University who is vice-chairwoman of the panel -- the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- said she felt its conclusions were misinterpreted. "The task force is not against women having mammograms in their 40s," Dr. Petitti said in an interview. Instead, she said, it is in favor of women in that age range deciding on their own, after consulting with their doctors, whether to undergo regular screenings."
Excuse me madam, but the patient always made the decision, they were never forced into anything, that process ended in May 1945 in Germany. Either these people never listen to what they say or worse they actually said what they think. The physician can make a suggestion, a recommendation, but the physician does not tell the patient what to do.
Let me review the facts:
1. True fact, more women will die if the recommendation is followed.
2. Yes, there are false positives. We all have gone through that process eventually in life. Better a false positive than a false negative. Does the patient suffer some traumatic result, yes for a while, is there the possibility of some damage, sometimes, and does it cost, yes, but what if the patient wants to pay themselves.
3. This is rationing pure and simple, it is the beginning of what we can expect from a Government controlled plan.
"Diana Petitti, a professor in biomedical informatics at Arizona State University who is vice-chairwoman of the panel -- the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force -- said she felt its conclusions were misinterpreted. "The task force is not against women having mammograms in their 40s," Dr. Petitti said in an interview. Instead, she said, it is in favor of women in that age range deciding on their own, after consulting with their doctors, whether to undergo regular screenings."
Excuse me madam, but the patient always made the decision, they were never forced into anything, that process ended in May 1945 in Germany. Either these people never listen to what they say or worse they actually said what they think. The physician can make a suggestion, a recommendation, but the physician does not tell the patient what to do.
Let me review the facts:
1. True fact, more women will die if the recommendation is followed.
2. Yes, there are false positives. We all have gone through that process eventually in life. Better a false positive than a false negative. Does the patient suffer some traumatic result, yes for a while, is there the possibility of some damage, sometimes, and does it cost, yes, but what if the patient wants to pay themselves.
3. This is rationing pure and simple, it is the beginning of what we can expect from a Government controlled plan.
Posts
