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Back and shoulder surgery is often worse than useless

127 points · 144 comments · burntcaramel

  1. tptacek · · focus · HN ↗
    This is a huge problem in US health care financing: we have a fee-for-service model, no price transparency, and a consumer base (insulated from a lot of the costs of procedures by indirect payment through employer-provided insurance) conditioned to think procedures are inherently good. We waste billions annually on procedures that shouldn't be delivered at all.

    I'm fond of pointing out the stat (true as of a year ago) that Massachusetts (I think it's MA?) has more MRI machines than the entire country of Canada.

    1. onlyrealcuzzo · · focus · HN ↗
      A lot of surgery that isn't directly saving you from death is worthless if you're lucky...
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