Politics in Medicine

There should be no politics in Medicine – ideally it should be a scientific application of proven principles of Practice, without concern for anything but Healing – except that Healing is miraculous.  It is not under the control of any Human other than the patient, and that requires more concern for Health when one is well than most of us are willing to accept, so that when illness strikes we are ill-prepared for the encounter. 

Nevertheless, in the USA, less than 30% of all procedures are of proven benefit, by even the most generous standards.  Politics breeds corruption, and money feeds it, and the current state of that construct has created an incestuous relationship that began when the first Third Party payer showed up. Prior to that, the Medical Profession existed as a Two Party system – the patient and the doctor of his choice.  The Insurance Industry changed all that, and the old saying "The Payer calls the tune" began.  After all, the Insurance companies are there to earn money for their stockholders, NOT for the high-minded purpose of offering care to all who need it – that was already being done more effectively by the entire medical profession's accepting the reality of ongoing poverty and individually and together seeing to it that almost everyone was cared for.  But the big issue then became Hospital costs, which rose dramatically with improved technology, so they came under the insurance umbrella, as did the burgeoning Pharmaceutical industry – both recognizing and then demanding their share of the growing profit from Medical care.  Now, everybody wants to get into the act, and the growing Cartel, all making a profit from Medical Care in this country encompasses at least the following:

It dwarfs the post world war II "Military Industrial Complex" that was such a calamity
because – Oh My! – there were people who got rich from The War. 
But is anyone getting rich from Medicine? 

When there is that much money involved, there is corruption, and there are those who need to maintain that status quo. Physicians who choose not to fall into the "mainstream" and get carried along to the whirlpool at the end must be eliminated, or the system will break down.  Guess what – I realized that over 12 years ago, and I "opted out" from all except the licensure, which is necessary for any physician to practice.  I am not the cause of the impending doom predicted for Medicine in this country, because it can no longer be affordable to the Country to spend more of its GNP than any other in the western world, and still be 29th in infant survival and 14th in average life expectancy.  I have "Paid my dues" for choosing Complementary, Alternative, Environmental, Functional, Holistic, Integrative, OrthoMolecular Medicine – I have been ridiculed, persecuted and prosecuted by the powers-that-be in Medicine, and I have been one of few that have survived the ordeal, although not without scars.  Even though I "won" my eighteen year battle with the Office of Professional Medical Conduct in NY State, the cost of that battle resulted in bankruptcy shortly after I received the verdict, including the loss of my Camelot – a Park Avenue office with 38 employees who lost their jobs – not to mention the stress on my family.  There are few doctors whose marriages have survived such a personal and financial series of attacks – my success is due in great part to Susan's sticking it out, standing by me and encouraging me to continue the fight for what we believe in still – the right for patients and physicians to choose their course in the quest for Health.