As a physician on the front line’s of healthcare, Dennis Gottfried knows how screwed up the system is. He joined me yesterday on WLS/Chicago to talk about how doctors give patients what they want, even when they don’t need it, because they want to satisfy them as customers. He explained that people really do “ask your doctor” about pharmaceuticals they see advertised, and doctors prescribe them, just like they order up unnecessary tests and treatments.
Dr. Gottfried explained why there’s been a rise in cardiac catheterization and heart surgeries, why strep throat is over-diagnosed, and why over-testing does not lead to better healthcare. All of that is what’s causing the cost of healthcare to explode, and is part of why the World Health Organization ranks the US only 37th when it comes to the quality of that care.
There’s more in his book, “Too Much Medicine.”
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