In the name of disease management

The “management” of something always assumes the continuation of that something. Therefore, the management of disease can neither prevent nor reverse disease. This, coincidentally, favors business. Yet, I am not here to assert controversy, neither conspiracy. Western medicine has merely been in the habit of meeting the demands of the people. Indeed, we’re the ones who have nurtured the beast known as Western medicine—a product of Western culture.

Time is money

Western society has come to favor the hustle-and-bustle life. We don’t have time to wait for things to get better. We don’t want to wait for the body to heal, nor do we care to assist it in doing so. We just want to go back to living our lives; we don’t care about doing things right the first time around—or any time for that matter. And if there’s a pill that can mask or hide the problem, then we are more than happy to pay for it. If out of sight, then out of mind. But this can create a monster of its own, and one that Western medicine is unable to tame (though, also, never intended to).

Western medicine depends on Western culture

Western medicine’s business model has allowed it to gain popularity, for it is what society asked for it to be. And it’s popularity has started to extend outward into other countries. This is problematic for many reasons, but the main reason being that Western medicine depends on Western culture—it cannot prosper outside of Western society. Indeed, Western medicine’s success is due wholly to the success that Western culture has been able to be exposed to, and that includes the mindset which now is Western culture. Without the conveniences provided by Western culture (e.g. abundance of resources), if another, less-fortunate country were to implement the same practice, it would cause greater medical complications for the people of that country. And that is because Western medicine has been increasingly unsuccessful in treating disease—proven by the ever-rising death count for disease.

The problems caused by Western medicine can only be compensated by a culture similar to Western culture—albeit, it is nevertheless unsustainable in all cases. As such, lesser-fortunate countries can but only reveal how unsuccessful Western medicine actually is—which itself requires mention of the mindset that such practices instill upon medical students. Though it is already showing significant signs of unsustainability, Western medicine continues to be compensated by Western culture for many people within the culture. As such, significant and meaningful refactoring has yet to be seen, and the very reason why extending Western medicine into non-Westernized countries is more detrimental than keeping it restricted to Western culture.

The pursuit of wellbeing?

There are many more problems that such a business model causes that bear need mention, but it is necessary to also bring into question the pursuit of wellbeing. For one has to wonder why so little doctors have sought to break out of this status quo that they might be found pursuing wellbeing. As far as it can be seen this is influenced greatly by the educational methods that Western medicine has brought into our lives. Couple that with government involvement, and we would have Western medicine imposing even greater influence into society. Money does indeed talk, and Western culture has a way of instilling demand for even more of the “finer things in life,” which itself can easily persuade the minds of doctors.

Granted, unless someone experiences disease themselves, they can but only rely on book knowledge or authoritative sources. Deviating from such things appears to be a most difficult task. Since we are all born ignorant, it is not surprising to see incompetence among doctors—albeit, no one wishes for any level of incompetence from those trying to treat them. Even worse, most doctors make no time to keep up with the latest research. As such, we are forced to wait on the next generation of doctors to see if they’ve been exposed to newer research. But this could take decades, which is of no surprise why medical progress always seems to be decades behind current research.

This is not to say that the kind of research they are exposed to is necessarily of high-quality, for many have been known to rely on low-quality epidemiological studies and continue to do so to this day. In fact, even randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, with large study groups and a year’s worth of research can itself be proven to be of low-quality. Not to mention that research that lacks some of these things tend to be automatically declared low-quality regardless of the clinically-proven benefits. As far as distinguishing between high-quality and low-quality studies goes, it is clear that the current methods and standards used to make such a distinction are themselves in need of major refactoring. The last thing we need is people being trained with falsifiable studies, forming bias that is dangerously imposed upon their patients.

Patients are a wealth of information—if only the correct questions are asked. However, doctors in general, given all the resources they’ve placed into their education, tend to assume the patient as ignorant. At the very least, the patient is, more often than not, neglected. Most doctors have never experienced the disease that they attempt to treat, but their confidence in the field leaves many with a great feeling of competence. As such, instead of trying to learn from the patient, the patient runs the risk of being labeled a “difficult patient.”

The silver lining

I know all of this sounds like I’m being extremely harsh on doctors, or that perhaps I’ve made it my life’s purpose to run Western medicine into the ground. Don’t get the wrong idea, it’s just these problems cannot continue being brushed off. Fortunately, there are an increasing number of doctors who are experiencing diseases that their own education was powerless to bring about health for their own lives, and have been rising up that the eyes of many doctors may be opened. And it is clear that there are many more in the field of medicine who do care for their patients and try their best to help their patients. The profession itself is asserted to have the highest rates of both suicide and depression out of any given profession. And this can only be possible if there exists doctors who actually care, who are actually trying to pursue health and wellbeing (though their field constantly fails them).

Unfortunately, given current medical practice, suicide and depression can only be avoided by exercising self-preservation. As such, it is easier to turn down a patient than to suffer from depression, especially considering that mental stability is a necessity in their line of work. Unfortunately, this runs the risk of desensitizing doctors from their patients, leading to a lower quality of life for the patient. And this extends onto nurses as well. It’s a vicious cycle of hurt and pain that cannot be allowed to continue as it is.

This need to reform or refactor medical practice in the Western world will help all people everywhere, both doctor, nurse and patient alike. However, this change cannot be expected to come from the medical establishment. This change must come from the people who lead the current business model. This change must come from Western culture itself.