Tuesday, December 7, 2010

67 stents, 28 coronary angiograms, and a crippled healthcare system

Eric Topol, MD
67 stents, 28 coronary angiograms, and a crippled healthcare system
Eric Topol, director of cardiology at Cleveland Clinic/Case Western asks in this video does this make sense? One man - 28 angiograms, 67 stents? We will hear in the coming debate on health care reform about the dangers of government rationing of health care, and scare tactics using distorted claims about Canada and England. But like the star cardiologist who inserted 30 stents in one day and was rewarded by Abbott Labs - even after the whistle blue - we should look at case reports like this and ask: 
Are there any controls for over-treatment in our system?
The hospitals benefit from the fees, as do the manufacturers, and interventional cardiologists.
The tort system is an after the fact remedy - not an efficient regulator.
Everyone hates pre-clearance by insurance companies or government (Medicare and Medicaid ) .
Do you have a better idea?


heart attack diagram

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