So check this out. For those of you that don't read the AJC and haven't seen this one yet, it's an article on Emory doctors that are putting employees through a "full-body scan" of sorts (see Scrubs episode "My Fault" Season 3 Episode 20), and they are getting a glimpse of what sort of diseases they might have later in life. That's right, just might have them.
This of course has all sorts of implications for insurance and employment (who wants to insure a trainwreck?) but for hospitals it implicates new revenues from hypochondriacs (same Scrubs episode), as well as opening up a whole bunch of lawsuits (also another Scrubs episode).
Would you get a full body scan if it was offered? What is your threshold for paying for it?
Me personally I don't need to scare myself in diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and lupus. I think that unless the person is an extreme optimist bad news is just going to spiral them into depression. What would you do if you knew you had a 75 percent chance of Alzheimer's?
Exactly.
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4 comments:
Really? Does this really work? If it does, it's fascinating, but I think I agree with you, Colin. I don't know that I would want to know right now how my life will end. It's bad enough thinking about the fact that it's statistically about a fourth over already anyway.
The main question that I have about this right now is if this procedure is effective, would it be a good method to use in order to be able to take preventative measures? That could be something!
For worrywarts like me, this couldn't be a good development. If I knew what illnesses I'm likely to get I'd definitely worry myself to death. What are these things typically costing?
Colin,
I really liked this first AJC article that highlighted the Emory program on wellness research. This is the kind of "out of the box" thinking that we need to make our health care system even more efficient. You often hear folks say things are hereditary, but this gives much more credibility to it and I would be anxious to see if folks take it more seriously.
I would probably get the scan if it was something I could afford. I'm a big believer in preventative medicine, lifestyle changes, healthy living....etc. Ok. Maybe I'm a hypochondriac...
But, I agree with Tim. I think we need more "out-of-the-box" ideas to improve our healthcare system.
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