False optimism about illness
Name(s):
Unwarranted faith in surgical cures
Nature
Americans generally hold the unwarranted attitude that most illness is curable, and this encourages expensive surgery when there is little reason to expect it to aid survival. Much cheaper psychological services which have been shown to help people with chronic progressive illness live longer by improving their outlook on life are not usually the main suggested form of treatment and often are not covered by medical insurance.
Claim
1. There are 3 times as many depressed in-patients and twice as many depressed out-patients as there are depressed people in the general population.
2. Canadian patients who had not accepted the constraints imposed by their illness cost 75% more than those who had adjusted the best to them.
3. The stricture to cure rarely, relieve suffering often, and comfort always is not being followed in modern health systems.
Type
(G) Very specific problems