The Decline of American Medicine

But you knew this already!

On my ride to work this morning and listing to NPR there was a segment on the (over) reliance of technology in diagnosing patient problems. The old time master physicians who are 60 years old and above, were taught to listen and physically examine their patients to make their diagnosis. Today, it is not uncommon for a doctor to ask you what the problem is and write a prescription to take a battery of tests WITHOUT EVER EVEN EXAMINING THE PATIENT.

Young physicians have never been taught the fine points of listening and touching their patients. It takes too much time and means less income.

Please pay attention because the things that have made our country great are slooowly disappearing. I can hear it now. In 20 years folks will talk about how good it really was in the old days.