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- Why health and greed are incompatible
- Unnecessary operations against joint wear
- Groundless back operations
- The reason for unnecessary operations: money
Why health and greed are incompatible
Doctors are increasingly recommending surgeries - although in some cases they may not only be superfluous, they may even be harmful. Patients should be particularly well-informed about the following procedures.
For pain in the hip, knee joints or back, the treatment proposal is too often: OP. An intervention is intended to guarantee freedom from symptoms - a hope that many patients rush to operate on. The greater the disappointment, if the operation later turns out to be unnecessary or even harmful at worst. Annually, 17.6 million operations are performed in German hospitals alone. Outpatient procedures are not included in these figures.
Unnecessary operations against joint wear
An example is Athroscopy against joint wear, which countless patients undergo annually. However, studies could not find a clear improvement in the symptoms after the procedure. Nevertheless, he is still recommended.
Same scenario, other body part: With about 284 cases per 100, 000 inhabitants, about 1.4 times as many hip prostheses are implanted in Germany than in the USA. This happens, although in hindsight it is often stated that the cause could also have been remedied physiotherapeutically.
What doctors rarely pay attention to: Not every diagnosis is the same therapy. Measures are just as different as humans, they must be tailored to the patient. However, only a few physicians take this into consideration. You are hastily recommending an operation.
In addition, every operation carries a risk. Physicians need to educate their patients about this - but such a conversation is often rushed and run too fast, leaving little time to process the information. It is signed and blindly trusted by the doctors. This does not just apply to hip surgery.
Basic back operations
Within the last decade, the number of spine interventions has doubled - to 735, 000 operations annually. For this reason, especially for planned back surgeries: Obtaining a second opinion is essential today. Many patients meet their doctor with complete confidence - which they need to a certain extent. Nevertheless, you should not hesitate to introduce yourself to another doctor. All too often a different motive is behind the operation than the recovery of the patient. One thing that should not be forgotten is that hospitals too are first and foremost companies that work towards a goal: profit.
The reason for unnecessary operations: money
An operation costs tons of money. However, hardly anyone talks about this in the treatment room. The focus here is the patient's complaint-free - only that studies, this is guaranteed by many back surgeries only for a short time. A long-term improvement is not always the case, after a few years operated patients have the same symptoms again as conservatively treated.
The cause of the increase in operations is the DRG system introduced in 2003. Health insurance companies have since paid a case lump sum for medical services. The costs are transparent, a reason why, with regard to the salary table, a further treatment is often applied, which in some cases would not be necessary at all.
The following observation is striking: since the introduction of the case lump sums, in particular the number of costly operations has increased rapidly . At the same time, many surgeons are receiving bonuses for surgery - another factor that no longer makes the decision to have surgery on the physician's side objective. Doctors need to choose between the best possible treatment for their patients, or their own financial ruin.
One would think that the patient's health always comes first. Unfortunately, this is not always the case for profit-oriented hospitals. Therefore, everyone should inform themselves in detail before an upcoming operation and, if necessary, seek further opinions before actually deciding on the procedure.
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(ww4)
