If anyone can get their hands on the July 08 edition - there is a great article called "Too much treatment, aggressive medical care can lead to more pain, with no gain." Its about end of life/agresive care that is costing more money but not improving outcomes OR patient satisfaction. The entire time i was reading it i kept thinking of the articles relation to maternity care. Here are a few quotes:
Quote:
| "Though the idea that more health care is better seemes to make intuitive sense, recent research has shown that none of the above necessarily helps you live better or longer. In fact, too much medical care might shorten your life." |
Quote:
| "Few Americans are aware of the dangers of this type of unneeded testng and overreliance on specialists." |
Quote:
| "The local suply of doctors and hospitals has more influence on the amount and type of care that patients recievethan their actual medical conditions have. The more medical resources a region has, the more aggressive the treatments are." |
Quote:
| "In regions that deliver the most care, patients have a slightly higher death rate than patients with the same condion treated less agressivey." |
Quote:
| "Doctors decide who need health care, what kind, and how much but have surprisingly little information on what the 'right' amount acutally is." |
And my personal favorite!:
Quote:
| "If you don't ned to be in a hospital, you shouldnt be. There are all kinds of dangers, such as hospital-aquired infections and bedsores." - E.Fisher M.D. |
I am totally going to write in to say "Thank you for the article, it helps remind me why i am having my baby AT HOME!"
