The Corruption of Healthcare

A look behind the curtain...

And now for something different.

My goal for this Substack newsletter is to provide high-quality health related information to assist my patients and anyone else reading to navigate the hazards out there. It is really important to me to provide information that can help you to be more healthy, and avoid the nonsense. In the following post I’m going to go off road a bit and address something I find to be very important.

The point of this article is to pull the curtain back on some of the problems within the healthcare industry. I’ve worked in healthcare for nearly twenty years, both in and outside the hospital, serving in healthcare and nursing leadership in ER, family practice, and urgent care, leading medical teams in mission settings, precepting nurses and nurse practitioner students, and caring for patients in the ER during many intense life and death situations. In all that time I have seen firsthand many of the gaps in care and compromised quality.

With that said, I truly write this with humility, knowing that there are incredible heroes in the industry, some of whom are my close friends and family. Modern health science has undoubtedly provided incredible benefit to reducing suffering and improving quality of life. But there are some dark aspects to the industry that we must turn some attention to.

NOTE: This article is for informational purposes only, and does not substitute professional medical advice.

The system is broken

In the following video, Tucker Carlson interviews Dr. Aseem Malhotra regarding the problem of corruption within healthcare. Dr. Malhotra is an esteemed cardiologist in the UK who provides information here about how financial conflicts of interest and attempts to control the world’s population have compromised healthcare.

This begins to draw back the curtain on how our medical systems are structured. The idea that healthcare organizations exist strictly for the benefit of their patients (customers), is totally disconnected from reality. It is important to remember that the first rule of any corporation is to perpetuate itself - that is, to stay in business. Likewise, our Western medical systems are primarily organized in such a way, not to prevent or reverse disease, but to manage symptoms through the use of costly medication and surgery. Read more about the structure of the Western medical system here. And, check out the brilliant summary of American healthcare by Dr. Robert Malone here.

Frivolous or harmful interventions

Healthcare organizations typically organize the care they deliver through policies and algorithmic guidelines. These policies, in theory, should be founded on strong data from scientific literature. Unfortunately, they are often relics of bad science. Healthcare practices, policies, and the day-to-day workings of any medical system or practice often fall into the ruts of habitual behaviors. It has been said that the history of science is a matter of being wrong about most things most of the time. It is often only in retrospect that we understand just how off the mark we’ve been. In this way, science in its most unspoiled form should be about continually refreshing our understanding, and anyone who tells you that “the science is settled” should be looked at with severe skepticism.

An important example of this is in the use of masks. Rigorous international studies have shows that surgical masks are nothing more than a splash guard, and there is no evidence that there is any statistical significance in everyday real-world applications between these and N95 masks. Read more about the mask study here.

In a discussion about the safety of certain experimental medications, someone recently told me “you have to trust somebody”. Sadly the healthcare system and the associated government and other regulating bodies have coaxed the general healthcare consumer into a passive role in their own health, all the while creating the illusion of quality, evidence-based care. Read more about this illusion here.

Healthcare interventions often focus on potential benefits while ignoring potential harms. To illustrate this example, consider the concept of “number needed to treat”. Here is a paper that illustrates this concept, showing how harm can even come from diagnostic tests intended to “screen” for disease. Read more about this potential harm here.

Medication

The topic of medication is a hot button. In North American culture (much like the UK and other European countries), we’ve been trained to associate medication with healthcare. Are you sick? You need medication. Need to prevent sickness? Well, we’ve got medicine for that too…

The obvious problem here is that the same organizations that influence the medical “guidelines” also have a hand in selling the medication. Imagine a car manufacturer that tells you exactly what you need to buy for your car (based on studies they have funded) and also holds the patent on the specific parts needed. To top it off, they also influence the labor force because they write the curriculum for training programs.

This brings us to the problem with the use of many medications. I want to tread lightly here and first say that there is no doubt that many of the scientific developments in medicine have brought about incredible benefits for some people, including saving many lives. However, medications often relieve symptoms but are not designed to alleviate the underlying cause. Many classes of medication carry significant dangers that get buried in the literature and are not widely understood by those to whom they are being prescribed.

A common medication prescribed for acid reflux has been shown to potentially increase risk of stomach cancer. Another example is found in a new popular weight loss medication that has been shown to cause thyroid cancer in animal trials, potentially increasing the risk for humans.

Anti-depressants are another class of medications that carry serious risks of potential harm. While it is true that some may benefit from this class of medication, many have also been seriously harmed by them, and there is evidence that these dangers have been suppressed. Read more about medication safety here.

Beyond the concern of safety and potential harm, there is also a question of waste. Many medications may not cause harm, but can create ongoing dependence, or minimal benefit while creating a “cycle” of need. Watch this video below for more information.

The workforce and the healthcare machine

Healthcare as an industry, like many other “production” style environments, is one that depends heavily on its workforce for profits. Many healthcare organizations have established profit models that depend on taking advantage of the high ethics and compassion of their workers. The ratio of workers assigned to provide care in a hospital setting is a perfect example of how profits can be boosted, while taking advantage of the workforce. Read more about the exploitation of healthcare workers here.

This overburdening of the healthcare workforce is widespread. As a former ER nurse, I’ve been at the bedside in some of the most intense and stressful situations one can imagine and have worked with some amazing teams in times of incredible loss and suffering. Sadly, it is on the backs of the healthcare workforce that hospitals rest. Read this powerful testimony from an ER nurse here.

Another issue with Western healthcare, is that of a well-documented decrease in the overall quality of care. While spending is going up, outcomes are getting worse and worse. Watch the video here for more information about the ever-dropping quality in the level of care available.

Once you know how the sausage is made…

Over the previous decade I’ve had countless conversations with people struggling to navigate our current healthcare system. Many have found that the mainstream healthcare system has simply failed them, and they look for different, more supportive options. But what? Where? How?

As stated in the introduction, my hope is to provide simple and meaningful articles that you can use to improve your health and I’d like to make a few general suggestions that I believe could be of benefit to anyone:

1. Take responsibility - Do everything you can to optimize your health through simple interventions that are both meaningful and sustainable. This can include a variety of things that I’ve previously written about like optimizing sleep, supplementing with vitamin D, practicing intermittent fasting, and prevention of seasonal illness. The vast majority of chronic disease is caused by diet and lifestyle, and thus can be reversed or avoided altogether with smart choices.

2. Shop around - Don’t settle on the first practitioner you meet for your general healthcare needs. Whether choosing a doctor, nurse practitioner, or physician assistant, interview several potential candidates and make sure that your values align. Ask tough questions, including talking through potential health scenarios you may encounter in the future, so that you know exactly what to expect and whether this is a connection that is beneficial to you.

3. Do your own research - The old-school top down approach to medicine needs to die. Be curious about your health, research your interests and concerns, and openly discuss these with your practitioner. The old way of taking the expert’s instructions without being provided a clear understanding of a disease process or plan of care does a poor job of providing quality care. An example of this is in what is called informed consent. Informed consent is a medical-legal requirement that the practitioner must fully inform their patient of the potential risks, benefits, and alternatives to each planned intervention. This often does not happen. Read more about informed consent here.

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In closing, I want to emphasize once again my respect and gratitude for the many healthcare workers of various types there are out there serving patients through many difficult and challenging situations. The circumstances are not, and never will be perfect. If you or someone you know have questions about how to navigate the complex healthcare choices out there, or are looking for a practitioner that you can partner with towards your health goals, please reach out to me and I’ll be more than happy to work with with you and help you find the right fit.