"Sick"/Evan Levine, M.D. on "The Paula Gordon Show: Conversations with People at the Leading Edge" - 08/01/05
 

Article from PaulaGordon.com

      Atlanta/July 16, 2005   Everyone's worried about health care in America but no one's addressing the systemic problems, says Dr. Evan Levine, cardiologist and author.  "Health care should not be big business.  After all, we're talking about people's lives here, we're not talking about a car that breaks down or when your garbage gets picked up.  And America's health care system stinks."

      Health care is America's biggest industry, Dr. Levine points out, upset about the results Americans get for their annual $1.5 trillion, with more than 43 million people uninsured.   

      "We all need to be upset. The whole system's topsy-turvey.  Where's the money going, folks?  Good physicians -- and most doctors are great, hardworking, honest people -- and patients are being taken for a ride by big business.   

      "I blame the pharmaceutical industry as the major culprit in driving up the cost of health care.   You have to understand.  They've infiltrated every aspect of medicine.  Then there are the insurance companies.  And hospitals that are more concerned about their bottom lines than about the health of the patients.  Patients who refuse to take generic drugs or demand tests that have no scientific basis -- we're getting too many tests.  I blame duplicitous physicians who are getting kick-backs or the urologist who performs lithotripsy when there are no kidney stones.  I've seen it.  And don't forget the 1-800-SUE-YOUR-DR malpractice lawyers who are only interested in the mighty buck."

      "The majority of physicians are wonderful, hardworking, good people who went to medical school to take care of people, not be bothered or harangued by drug reps, by the minority of their fellow physicians who are duplicitous, and by malpractice lawyers.  We could pay for the Medicare prescription drug program if we used generic drugs and no one's discussing this.  My suspicion is that the pharmaceutical industries are lobbying against my idea."
 

 What to do?

                  "First, find a doctor who you can put your trust in.  Find out where the doctor went to medical school.  Make sure the doctor is board certified.  Find out if he or she has admitting privileges to hospitals and will come if you get sick -- you need someone who knows you when you're in a hospital, it's a foreign environment.  Try to find a physician who accepts your insurance.   And if you find a good doctor, tell your friends.  
      
      "Make sure that you are getting the less costly, generic drugs -- prescription drugs cost too much.  The FDA guarantees that the generics are the exact same thing as the name brand drug.  If anyone tells you different, they're liable, because that's a lie.  Why pay more?  
    
      "If you're going to have a surgical procedure and your doctor tells you there's a 5% or 10% or even 1% risk that you're going to die with this surgical procedure, get a second opinion.  People are wrong some times.  Always get a second opinion for a surgical procedure.  Get a second opinion if, God forbid, you have cancer and you're going to get chemotherapy.   
   
       "I subscribe to the theory that you should go to a university hospital if you get sick, I think the services there are by and large better.  Stay out of nursing homes if you can and if you can't, you need your family members to come see you, to make sure everything's OK.   And if you find a physician who's doing something duplicitous, report him or her to the Office of Professional Misconduct."
   
    "We all need to be insured.  It makes me sick.  People can argue with me about a lot of things, but we have more than 43 MILLION uninsured Americans and we spend over $5,000 per PERSON in this country every year.  There's no spin on that."

EVAN LEVINE, M.D. is a practicing cardiologist and internist in New York City.  Dr. Levine is affiliated with the Montefiore Medical Center where he is a clinical assistant professor of medicine.  He was a summa cum laude graduate of a program associated with the City College of New York and Mount Sinai School of Medicine.  He has offices in the Bronx and Yonkers.  Dr. Levine is author of What Your Doctor Won¹t (Or Can¹t) Tell You:  Doctors, hospitals, drugs, and insurance -- what you need to know to take charge of your own health care.