A Nation on Drugs By Dr. Evelyn Higgins

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), nearly 7 million Americans are abusing prescription drugs - more than the number who are abusing cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, ecstasy and inhalants combined. Today's 7 million was just 3.8 million in 2000 - an 80 percent increase in just six years. Prescription pain relievers are the new users' drug of choice versus marijuana or cocaine. Opiod painkillers now cause more overdose deaths than cocaine and heroin combined. Shockingly, 40 percent of teens and almost an equal number of their parents think abusing prescription painkillers is safer than abusing 'street' drugs. 25 percent of drug-related emergency room visits are associated with the abuse of prescription drugs. So, armed with those stats, where are these kids getting their drugs? From your medicine cabinet, from illicitly acquiring prescriptions drugs on the Internet, theft from pharmacies or homes and friends and relatives? YES is the answer according to the DEA. As a nation, we take more prescription drugs than any other country. If the theory is that drugs make us well, why aren't we number one in health and longevity in the world? We aren't even close. Of course, drugs have benefits - they can save lives - but what we are learning is that many people use drugs for purposes other than saving lives. [more...]

Cuban Fiascos By Dr. Evelyn Higgins

The Bay of Pigs, The Cuban Missile Crisis and following Cuba's healthcare model are all American bad ideas! The Cuban system of healthcare has been touted by many critics of our current healthcare delivery system as a master plan for us to follow. These critics of the U.S. system have tried to copy and tell us how wonderful the system works in Cuba, and use it as a guide for 'universal healthcare' in the United States. Currently, Cuba is undergoing a major overhauling due basically to a system that worked in theory but not in reality - in the long run.

I as an American look to the log run; short term is also short sighted. We are neophytes in the history of the world and need to remember that as we take on major overhauling of systems, which impact our citizens greatly. Cuba has changed hands and now with Raul Castro taking over as President after his brother Fidel, we see a healthcare system, which in reality is in very poor condition and greatly understaffed with physicians. The system started with great theoretical plans, which in reality failed miserably. [more...]

Power to the Patient By Mark Tumblin

The current Democratic presidential candidates would have you believe a National Healthcare Program is the solution for dramatic increases in healthcare and in health insurance premiums. One-third of Americans - even those with health insurance - say high costs force them to skip needed medical care. It is a fact we are spending more on healthcare but let's take a closer look at the reason behind the increase. Maybe it is time we focused on wellness and prevention. When it comes to reforming American Healthcare, do the costs outweigh the benefits or is the cost as prohibitive as some would have you think. A healthy lifestyle of diet, exercise and prevention will increase quality of life and longevity and decrease the need for costly healthcare expenditures. We can remove the threat of chronic disease by having the discipline to control our own lives. I would propose the answer to healthcare reform is not in electing officials who will take our most precious of resources but rather taking control of our own lives and returning the power to the patient. [more...]

Which Tail is Wagging the Healthcare Dog? By Mark Tumblin

The single most important part of health and therefore healthcare is the patient. As a patient, when was the last time you felt you had the most influence over your healthcare delivery? We spend more household income on healthcare than on cars and gasoline combined. Healthcare spending is 4.3 times higher than what we spend on the national defense. Health insurance expenses are the fastest growing cost component for employers. Unless something changes dramatically, health insurance costs will overtake profits by 2008. We spend 80% of every healthcare dollar on chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, obesity and emphysema. We must reform healthcare beginning with the patient or have the "chronic disease tail" wag the healthcare dog. Many commercial insurers use Medicare's fee schedule in developing their own fees. The centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed a 5% decrease in payments to physicians in 2007 with more to follow in the following nine years. In fact, projected cuts would equal 37% in that period while the increase in the cost to treat a patient will increase 22%. Pay scales established by private insurance companies will then be expected to follow suit and the patient will feel the "physician influenced tail" wag the dog. [more...]

American Healthcare: Bracing for the Perfect Storm By Mark Tumblin

Our American Healthcare System has long been in disarray. As we approach yet another election, the debate on Healthcare falls, in some opinions, second behind the economy or third behind the war in Iraq. As critical as the economy and the war are, it is obvious Americans have had enough of the current state of Healthcare.It seems we are headed for the perfect storm. We as consumers have reached our limit on what we can spend on quality healthcare. Our physicians have reached their limit on a fee for service system that not only dictates how medicine will be practiced but randomly decides what will and will not be reimbursed by insurance companies. Our government has begun the monumental task of reforming the healthcare infrastructure but many of the obstacles to reform are too political for effectiveness. Last but not least, several of our choices for the upcoming presidential election would have you believe universal healthcare is the only solution. We are forced into healthcare's perfect storm as reform one way or another will happen. We must decide to influence the storm toward true reform or depend on our government to protect us from levy system straining at the pressure. [more...]

Marijuana Back in the News By Dr. Evelyn Higgins

Several weeks ago, I wrote about Oaksterdam University in Los Angeles offering a medicinal marijuana course, which prepares students to enter the lucrative multibillion-dollar industry - on the legal side, that is. Well, a new study just released this week may have an effect on enrollment due to the fact that it has been suggested that marijuana users may have a shorter life expectancy after suffering a heart attack than people who do not use the drug. When we target a specific generation - the baby boomers that have many long time marijuana users to claim - it gets very interesting. A 2002 national study found that the number of 45 to 64-year-olds who reported marijuana use was three times higher than it had been earlier! Wow, three times higher! This same age group is also increasing their risk for the number one killer in America, which is cardiovascular disease. Regular marijuana smokers are two to four times as likely to die from a heart attack within four years of having the attack compared to non-marijuana smokers. Obviously the study raises concern, which needs to be studied further, but let's see what the Valedictorian from Oaksterdam has to say.... [more...]