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Iatrogenesis
* Iatrogenic Back Pain Information What is Iatrogenesis?Iatrogenic conditions are health problems which occur due to various interactions with the medical treatment process. Iatrogenic conditions kill more patients every year than many diseases that warrant medical treatment to begin with. There are 2 basic forms of iatrogenic condition: direct medical error and indirect circumstantial effects. When both of these scenarios are added together, it is easy to see that the medical system, despite its great achievements, has truly done as much harm as it has good.Types of IatrogenesisThere are many factors which may be considered iatrogenic contributors to conditions of disease, illness, pain and injury:* Failed Surgeries * Dangerous Drug Interactions * Diagnostic Nocebo Effect * Denial of psychogenic conditions * Treatment Error * Unnecessary Procedures * Neglectful Invalid Care * Unnecessary Prescription of Drugs * Psychological Manipulation leading to lasting pain * Doctor insistence on mandatory Caesarian section * Drug testing using dangerous substances * Forced immunization leading to complications * Insufficient recognition of mental disorders * Infection due to medical negligence * Diagnostic Error Iatrogenesis StudiesA research study completed in 2003 estimated the number of American patient deaths, as a direct result of iatrogenic error, to be 7.8 million. This amounts to more casualties than America has suffered during all the wars it has ever fought, combined…Only 5% to 20% of all iatrogenic errors are discovered and reported. When you calculate the vast numbers of affected patients who never receive any help for their treatment induced problems, it is clear that this medical malignancy is an epidemic condition. My Thoughts on IatrogenesisI am an avid supporter of the medical system. It is a marvel of man’s ingenuity and development. The overwhelming majority of health care workers are extremely conscientious, well trained and competent individuals. However, when you consider even a small percentage of healthcare practitioners to be negligent or even unethical, it still amounts to a huge actual number of bad doctors, nurses, chiropractors and therapists. Besides these obvious “bad apples”, it is always possible for a good doctor to make a mistake, since no one is immune to human error.Despite my support of the medical system, I recognize the vast problems experienced in the treatment of diseases and injuries. Iatrogenesis is a very real problem which kills millions and injures ten times that amount. I have personally seen the effects on the lives of so many patients who have lost everything due to some form of iatrogenic error. Is there a solution? To some aspects of the problem, there certainly are, but no solution will ever truly make medical error a thing of the past.
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