Are We Slowly Losing Our Grip On Health and Wellness?

I cannot speak for the rest of the world but in the United States there seems to be a number of disturbing health trends occurring, not the least of which is, despite amazing advancements in medical technology, the life expectancy rate seems to be stuck at about 79 years. So in other words medical science is doing a better job of saving lives but it doesn’t seem to be showing up as increased life expectancy.

Over the weekend I happened to run into a long-time friend who is an EMT. In case you have been living on a deserted island for years they are those amazing guys and gals who show up when someone calls for emergency medical services.

After a little small talk I asked him how it has been going in the world of saving lives and rescuing people. I could tell he didn’t want to say much but finally did open sighting peoples general health and weight problems as major problems. He went on to say that in his 20 years of experience he has never seen peoples general health this bad and it is putting a great deal of pressure on the emergency medical teams in his general area. He went on to say that it appears many people aren’t doing anything in the way of preventative medicine thus needing their services time and time again.

Another obstacle to health seems with our doctors who are facing pressures like never before. Their insurance costs are rapidly rising, government regulation has never been more demanding, the pressures placed on them by the public to prescribe the latest and greatest prescription medication seen on television is increasing, and the number of patients they must see to break even has never been higher. Recently, one of my doctors told me they had to see a patient every 20 minutes, five and a half days a week in order for their practice to make money.

Many have hired nurse practitioners solely to see Medicare and Medicaid patients due to the lower fee schedules . Others are just cutting down the time they spend with each patient. So quality of care appears to be declining not by choice but out of necessity.

Another concern is the explosion of prescription drug usage. More prescription drugs are being prescribed today than ever before. We are turning into a society that reacts after the fact expecting a pill to solve our problems rather than one who that tries to prevent an illness from occurring in the first place.

Quite honestly those who have allowed themselves become woefully unhealthy possibly dealing with multiple serious conditions (ex. diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease) have little choice.

So what is the answer?

There certainly is no shortage of opinions about how to reverse these disturbing trends. The medical community must at some point make personal care number one while focusing on patient education and illness prevention.

On a person responsibility level people must realize that good long term health requires more than simply taking a chemical compound and hoping things turn out well.

Some have already recognized that prevention is the key to reversing many of the negative health trends plaguing our society. This includes doctors as well with many becoming certified both in naturopathic medicine and conventional western medicine giving them the option to prescribe chemical compounds only after other avenues have been explored.

In conclusion, there are no easy answers but problems do have a way of working themselves out eventually once the will to make meaningful changes becomes clear, and perhaps we are nearing that point.

Rob Hawkins is an enthusiastic consumer advocate for natural health and natural living with over 10 years experience in the field.
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