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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. FlyingAvatar · · focus · HN ↗
      I would posit this is more of a function of Canada having too few machines, with a median wait of 10 weeks for an MRI. [1]

      To me it's crazy that people are waiting an average of nearly 3 months to get imaging. This is probably after waiting a couple months for their doctor's appointment to get the MRI scheduled in the first place.

      [1] [<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;getmrifast.ca&#x2F;mri-wait-times" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;getmrifast.ca&#x2F;mri-wait-times]

      1. OsrsNeedsf2P · · focus · HN ↗
        One of the reasons I left Canada was it took me 6 months to get an MRI after a severe head injury in 2017. I have since gladly paid nearly 500k in taxes to other countries. Fuck Canada.
        1. skylurk · · focus · HN ↗
          Clearly you had the means... was it not possible to pay for private healthcare?
          1. brink · · focus · HN ↗
            What does that have to do with the conversation here?
            1. readthenotes1 · · focus · HN ↗
              Some countries have a dual insurance system that might allow wealthier people to get better access.

              Think of Steve Jobs jumping to the head of the line for a liver transplant

              1. jjtheblunt · · focus · HN ↗
                he was already at the head of the line where he got the liver.

                the article below is interesting, as it goes into the hearsay you repeated and the facts of how the system works.

                <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;06&#x2F;23&#x2F;business&#x2F;23liver.html" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2009&#x2F;06&#x2F;23&#x2F;business&#x2F;23liver.html

                1. readthenotes1 · · focus · HN ↗
                  Thanks! It was Paywalled, but I found this

                  <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;globalbioethics.org&#x2F;2013&#x2F;12&#x2F;11&#x2F;did-steve-jobs-cut-the-line-in-order-to-obtain-a-liver-transplant&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;globalbioethics.org&#x2F;2013&#x2F;12&#x2F;11&#x2F;did-steve-jobs-cut-th...

                  To restate my now better informed opinion, Jobs money allowed him to increase his chances dramatically of getting a liver transplant.

                  1. jjtheblunt · · focus · HN ↗
                    yeah it seems that there are multiple regions of donor registries, perhaps predating the idea that a recipient could fly within expiration date?
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