What is the Sick Care System?
Why we are getting sicker and how industry profits
In a twisted tale of health and wealth, the United States spends a mind-boggling 3.5 trillion dollars on healthcare, claiming the dubious title of the world's top spender. Paradoxically, this financial commitment has not translated into a healthier populace. Instead, it has birthed a system where corporations rake in massive profits by exploiting our ailments. The dark secret lies in a medical landscape corrupted by financial conflicts of interest, where the wellbeing of citizens takes a back seat to the insatiable appetite for financial gains.
This is purposeful.
Critiquing the flaws in the psychiatric industry is only scratching the surface; it's a symptom of a more profound societal issue. Our healthcare system's problems extend beyond specific specialties, highlighting fundamental flaws in how we understand, train, and deliver medical care.
This is purposeful.
Our approach to healthcare is fixated on drugging diseases and managing symptoms, leaving the crucial aspect of restoring health by the wayside. Our physicians, specializing in isolated facets of the body, operate as if these components function independently, disregarding the intricate interconnectedness that defines our well-being.
This is purposeful.
If I was the CEO of a company that manufactures hiking boots, my financial success hinges on cultivating a growing interest in hiking. In fact, a dedicated portion of the budget would be earmarked for actively promoting this outdoor activity. On the flip side, the pharmaceutical industry operates on a contrasting dynamic, where financial success is linked to an increase in the number of people acquiring or developing diseases in need of treatment.
As outlined in the 2005 book "Selling Sickness," approximately five decades ago, the leader of Merck, a pharmaceutical powerhouse, openly voiced his unease at the prospect of his company's market being confined to those who were sick. He openly expressed a desire for Merck to emulate the maker of Wrigley's chewing gum, with dreams of creating drugs for healthy individuals, envisioning a market that spans everyone. Fast forward to today, and this ambition propels the marketing machinery of the world's most profitable industry.
As detailed in my earlier article titled "The Commodification of Depression" (accessible here), the pharmaceutical industry collaborated closely with academic psychiatry to actively expand the demographic of individuals identifying as depressed. Facing the realization that your doctor might play a role in perpetuating illness can be unsettling. However, as I aim to elucidate, it's highly probable that your healthcare provider is unaware of the systemic manipulation orchestrated by industries profiting from your dependence on their products.
Big food manipulates their processed products with ingredients designed to hijack your brain, ensuring you keep craving more. Their deleterious products not only foster disease but also serve as a lucrative catalyst for creating a market, backed by a web of deceptive narratives that paint their offerings as healthy.
This manipulation extends into lobbying endeavors aimed at swaying government standards (think food pyramid), infiltrating school lunches, and shaping guidelines to sway the recommendations of nutritionists and medical professionals. The resulting illness spawns an entire healthcare and pharmaceutical industry, geared towards treating the diseases cultivated by inadequate lifestyle choices and nutrition.
This is purposeful.
How do our esteemed medical professionals, heralded as the best and brightest, fall prey to manipulation so easily?
Funding Academic Research
Industries, seeking the golden stamp of legitimacy, often strategically funnel funds into academic research that conveniently aligns with their products. This symbiotic relationship, while ostensibly advancing scientific inquiry, becomes a covert avenue for shaping narratives in favor of industry interests.
With financial support dangling like a carrot, researchers find themselves navigating a landscape where objectivity can be subtly compromised. As industries weave themselves into the fabric of academic studies, the resultant research can provide a veneer of credibility, bolstering marketing efforts and influencing public perception.
In the relentless "publish or perish" realm of academia, researchers find themselves increasingly compelled to undertake studies aligned with the innovations of their respective industries. The pressure to produce prolifically often tilts the scales, compromising the pursuit of objective knowledge as scholars navigate a landscape where industry interests intertwine with academic endeavors. This delicate dance between intellectual integrity and the demands of a competitive academic environment raises concerns about the erosion of research independence and the impact on the credibility of scholarly pursuits.
This is purposeful.
Pharmaceutical Industry Conducts Own Clinical Trials
Comparably, it's like entrusting the proverbial fox with safeguarding the hen house, raising valid concerns about the trustworthiness and objectivity of scientific findings. Notably, the pharmaceutical industry stands as arguably the most profitable criminal organization in history, shelling out billions in fines and routinely settling lawsuits. However, these penalties are but a fraction of their astronomical profits.
Clinical trials form the bedrock of evidence-based medicine, yet when drug manufacturers spearhead their own investigations, conflicts of interest emerge unmistakably. The industry's financial interests inject a clear bias into trial outcomes, favoring the accentuation of positives and the downplaying of negatives, thus distorting the authentic impact of a drug. Furthermore, there's a notorious history of concealing critical data that reveals potential harm, a practice aimed at expediting the drug's market entry despite its adverse effects.
The sway of pharmaceutical behemoths doesn't stop at reporting; it infiltrates the very fabric of trial design and result interpretation. In instances where a drug fails to yield the anticipated results, the industry is known to bury such findings and manipulate methodologies to engineer a more favorable outcome.
This is purposeful.
Advocates are now fervently advocating for heightened transparency, third-party engagement, and stringent oversight to counteract this pervasive influence and safeguard the credibility of medical research.
Industries Hire Academics as Paid Spokespeople
A disquieting trend within certain industries involves the recruitment of academics to ghostwrite scientific papers, effectively transforming them into paid spokespersons for the industry. This covert collaboration not only blurs the lines between academic independence and corporate influence but also crafts a deceptive illusion of prestige and scientific validity.
As these scholars lend their expertise to pen papers that champion industry interests, their names become associated with the work, perpetuating the illusion of impartial academic endorsement. This tactic not only undermines the integrity of scientific discourse but also raises ethical concerns about the deliberate manipulation of public perception, where industry-backed narratives masquerade as authoritative contributions to the scientific canon.
This is purposeful.
Scientific Findings Misrepresented to the Public
Scientific findings fall victim to distortion when conclusions presented in published literature fail to align with the actual data. This discrepancy is exacerbated by a concerning practice where industries, notably pharmaceutical companies, hire communication firms to artfully present and promote distorted scientific narratives to the public, all in the service of advancing their products.
The pervasive influence of big food and Pharma further complicates matters, as these industries allocate substantial advertising dollars, creating a conflict of interest with independent media outlets. This financial entanglement raises questions about the independence and objectivity of media reporting, as the allure of advertising revenue compromises the ability of independent outlets to critically scrutinize and expose the deceptive practices that characterize the misrepresentation of scientific findings.
This is purposeful.
Industries Own our Politicians
Lobbying and campaign contributions act as puppet strings, orchestrating the decisions of our politicians. Big money maneuvers behind closed doors, shaping policies to favor the interests of those with deep pockets. How does the FDA allow drugs to market that have questionable efficacy and notable harms?
This is purposeful.
Industries Fund Major Medical Organizations
Industries strategically funnel funds into major medical and health-related organizations, creating a web of financial influence that shapes protocols, guidelines, and even the development of treatment strategies. This symbiotic relationship leads to the propagation of distorted scientific findings that conveniently align with the interests of the funding industry.
In this landscape, corporate interests take precedence over objective scientific inquiry, undermining the integrity of medical standards and placing the public's well-being at risk.
The notion of the independent doctor, operating without external influences, has become a relic of the past, long extinct in the evolving landscape of healthcare. Today, the complex web of industry ties, corporate pressures, and financial entanglements has infiltrated the medical profession, challenging the ideal of impartial, patient-centric care.
The extent to which physicians can truly operate independently is increasingly questionable, highlighting the need for a critical examination of the forces shaping modern healthcare practices.
This is purposeful.
Control How Medical Students are Trained
Medical students enter the world of healthcare with the expectation of being trained under the banner of the "best available evidence." However, beneath this noble facade lurks an unsettling reality—the illusion of evidence-based medicine, tainted by the pervasive influence of external forces.
As these future physicians navigate their education, the seemingly impartial pursuit of knowledge is compromised by industry interests, corporate pressures, and biased research. The very foundation of evidence-based medicine becomes suspect when the evidence itself is shaped and manipulated to serve commercial objectives.
Medical students find success within an educational system that rewards rote learning and encourages deference to authority. In this structured environment, the mastery of established knowledge and adherence to established protocols are emphasized. A concerning facet of medical education is the potential for students to be inadvertently "brainwashed" into prioritizing the citation of previous research as evidence over engaging in critical analysis. The emphasis on rigorous referencing and adherence to established literature, while essential, can overshadow the cultivation of independent and critical thinking.
While this approach can lead to academic achievements and proficiency in standardized exams, it also raises questions about the development of critical thinking and the ability to challenge conventional wisdom. The system's emphasis on rote memorization and compliance molds medical professionals who excel at regurgitating information but may be less adept at questioning the status quo or navigating the complexities of real-world healthcare challenges.
This is why you hear so many medical professionals blindly repeating the same propaganda.
This is purposeful.
Eliminate Independent Doctors
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) brought about transformative changes in the healthcare landscape, but it also stirred controversy, particularly in its impact on independent doctors. Critics argue that the ACA, while aiming to increase access to healthcare, inadvertently dealt a blow to independent practitioners.
The shift towards accountable care organizations and bundled payment models favored larger hospital systems, paving the way for them to acquire independent private practices. The administrative burdens imposed by the ACA, coupled with financial incentives favoring institutional over individual providers, led to a challenging environment for independent doctors.
In the contemporary healthcare landscape, doctors employed by institutions find themselves tethered to stringent guidelines and protocols, where deviation risks job security. The pressure to conform to standardized practices is intensified by the financial imperatives of healthcare organizations aiming to increase revenue. As a result, these physicians are compelled to see more patients in less time, navigating a delicate balance between meeting institutional quotas and delivering quality care.
This was purposeful.
Disease Mongering
Disease mongering, a calculated strategy employed by various entities, is orchestrated to cultivate a culture of fear surrounding specific health conditions. This deliberate amplification of the perceived risk and severity of ailments serves as a catalyst for promoting early screenings and, at times, unwarranted medical interventions. By instilling fear and emphasizing potential threats, certain industries capitalize on the anxieties of the public, steering them towards preventive measures that may not always align with the individual's actual health risk.
This is purposeful.
Treating Symptoms Creates More Symptoms
In a disconcerting cycle within the healthcare industry, treating symptoms often begets more symptoms, perpetuating a continuous demand for additional drugs and interventions. This ominous trend, fueled by financial incentives, is driven by the philosophy that sustained treatment, rather than addressing the root cause of ailments, ensures a steady flow of commerce.
The reliance on pharmaceutical interventions to manage symptoms without prioritizing holistic healing not only leaves individuals caught in a perpetual cycle of medical interventions but also sustains a lucrative market for the healthcare industry.
How do we break this cycle?
Breaking free from the relentless cycle of symptomatic treatment and perpetual reliance on the allopathic medical system demands a radical shift towards embracing true health. It necessitates a departure from the prevailing paradigm that perpetuates illness for the sake of commerce.
The only way to truly liberate ourselves is to prioritize wellness over the pharmaceutical treadmill, is to restore health, and to question the very foundations of a system that thrives on the perpetual treatment of symptoms.
Health, in this context, becomes the ultimate form of rebellion—a declaration of freedom from a system that profits from our ailments. It's time to redefine health as not just the absence of disease but as the embodiment of personal sovereignty and emancipation from the shackles of a profit-driven healthcare industry.
In this paradigm, health is not just a choice; it is a revolutionary act—a reclaiming of our autonomy and a resolute stand against a system that thrives on our perpetual dependence.
RESIST
This must be purposeful.
THEY WANT US SICK AND DEPENDENT
This is a fantastic article, so many holes in one. The problem is though when you do become ill, you are vulnerable and are dependent on others. Those others, the medical community, family and friends push for drugging you, as most have 'faith' in doctors and the sick system. If you rebel and your symptoms get worse, they will blame you for neurotic and fringe ideas about holistic health. You are hamstrung financially too, because insurance covers only the mainstream damaging medical system. Sure, you can do your best to live healthy and avoid the death camps, and the drug pushers, but accidents happen, and then you are screwed. Also, when you are terrified by a condition and that fear is leveraged against you, it is inevitable almost to lose hope. It is amazing the level of hubris I have encountered dealing those in the medical profession. They get their backs up if you question them, they believe since you have not gone to medical school and they have, you know nothing and they know everything, and why are you wasting time questioning their expertise. They quickly go from speaking civilly to the patient to contempt as though you were a fool. This system is so inhumane, I don't believe it can be fixed. A parallel system will cater to the wealthy. The rich are generally healthy in fact because of money. Nurse advocates are a support, but it is not enough. Getting a family on board with avoiding drugs is like convincing families not to take experimental shots during covid, most did. I think it was Samuel Hahnemann who treated mentally ill patients with kindness and treatments that were not cruel, but the Rockefellers made sure the homeopathic hospitals were shut down, so that pharma could get on with the business of poisoning people for billions. In fact, it has become much harder to buy homeopathic medicines in the U.S. Perhaps with the entry of many into regenerative farming, an outgrowth of that will be a return to using the wisdom of nature to heal. Laws though will have to change to give this opportunity to the sick, and pharma will oppose them every step of the way.
Great summary. For anyone who wants to learn more about this topic, the harms of pharmaceuticals, and wellness based health care, I highly recommend the substack The Forgotten Side of Medicine (A Midwestern Doctor). I have learned so much valuable information from it!