When doctors go on strike, fewer people die.<\/p>\n
Take Los Angeles: in 1976, hospital staff went on strike for 52 days and deaths went down by 18%.<\/p>\n
In Israel, in 1973, a hospital strike lasted 28 days and deaths went down by 50%.<\/p>\n
In Bogot, Colombia, in 1976, a hospital strike lasted 52 days and deaths went down by 35%.<\/p>\n
We think that increased technology in healthcare has resulted in increased longevity.<\/p>\n
But researchers Sonja and John McKinley found that, since 1900, medical intervention has increased average lifespan by just 1% to 3%, thats about a year.<\/p>\n
So whats actually happening?<\/p>\n
It seems the main problem is unnecessary intervention medical conditions that would be better left alone.<\/p>\n
It seems to be the old clich: \"Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.\"<\/p>\n
Its the same if you take your car to a mechanic and ask if theres anything wrong.<\/p>\n
Hell find something wrong, thats his job.<\/p>\n
Thats how it is with plumbers, soldiers, chefs, teachers, doctors, everyone.<\/p>\n
When you go to a doctor, they recommend a treatment, drugs or surgery.<\/p>\n
During a doctors strike, only emergency cases got seen, and deaths went down, so what does that tell you?<\/p>\n
It tells you that a lot of deaths are from treatments prescribed for non-emergency conditions.<\/p>\n
Especially in the US, doctors are constantly incentivised by drug companies to prescribe the medicines they make.<\/p>\n
According to the FDA, in 1978, 1.5 million Americans were hospitalised for prescription drugs, and one in seven hospital beds were used by people with adverse drug reactions.<\/p>\n
According to the General Accounting Office, 51% of all drugs between 1976 and 1985 caused adverse reactions, such as: heart, liver or kidney failure, birth defects, blood disorders, respiratory arrest, seizures or blindness.<\/p>\n
Prescription drugs are reported to kill 100,000 patients a year in US hospitals.<\/p>\n
Robert Mendelsohn, ex-chairman of the Medical Licencing Committee for Illinois, put it this way: \"The great danger to health is the doctor who practises modern medicine. I believe modern medicines treatments for diseases are seldom effective, and theyre often more dangerous than the disease theyre designed to treat. I believe that much modern medicine could disappear from the face of the earth (doctors, hospitals, drugs, and equipment) and the effect on our health would be immediate and beneficial.\"<\/p>\n
Mendelsohn is saying that an awful lot of problems could be solved without medical intervention just plain old-fashioned common sense.<\/p>\n
Of course, a specialist, in any area, would never agree with that.<\/p>\n
Its in their interest to find a complicated problem, because thats their job.<\/p>\n
Murray Chick, our head of planning, once told me about the advice one of the cleverest men in advertising gave him when he was a young planner.<\/p>\n
He said: \"Its your job to make the client believe his problem is unbelievably complicated, and youre the one person who can solve it for him.\"<\/p>\n
As a client, or a creative, its worth remembering that.<\/p>\n
The real solution to most problems is the radical application of common sense, thats what creativity is.<\/p>\n
Dont ask a specialist for help unless youve already decided you cant solve theproblem with common sense.<\/p>\n
In other words, never ask a barber if you need a haircut.<\/p>\n
What would you expect him to say?<\/p>\n
Dave Trott is the author ofCreative Blindness and How to Cure It,Creative Mischief, Predatory Thinking and One Plus One Equals Three<\/p>\n
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Original post: When doctors go on strike, fewer people die. Take Los Angeles: in 1976, hospital staff went on strike for 52 days and deaths went down by 18% Continue reading
\nA view from Dave Trott: Never ask a barber if you need a haircut - CampaignLive<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"