I think that this is a super important topic that nobody ever talks about. But if you don’t think that the healthcare system is broken, then this video probably isn’t for you. But if you think that we pay an outrageous amount for healthcare in the U.S. and don’t get the results that we should, then you’ll find this very interesting.
I’ve been both a patient and a doctor in our healthcare system for well over 50 years, and although the healthcare system has done some amazing things for me personally, it has let me down more times than I can remember, and has often caused more problems than it has solved.
This video isn’t about establishing that the healthcare system is broken. I’m going to assume that we’re all on the same page with regard to that. How or why it’s broken is the debate that I want to tackle. And I think that there is one major issue that hasn’t yet been addressed.
And that issue is that healthcare system gets paid, regardless of the outcome.
What I mean by that is that whether or not you get better, all of the major players in the health care system get paid. In fact, consider this. The longer it is that you are unhealthy, the more money our healthcare system makes.
I can’t think of many other things that work that way.
Everyone is so distracted by quantity of care issues (who should get care, Obamacare, etc.) that we never talk about the quality of the care.
Where is the incentive to provide higher quality care?
This is what has happened in the world of IBS. It’s perfectly acceptable in the healthcare system to not help people with IBS, because that is the expected standard of care. You can find many highly respected medical websites and journals that will tell you that there is no cure for IBS. And you may not have even stopped to question that.
And when you go to the doctor for treatment for your IBS, the doctor gets paid the same whether or not you get better. They aren’t provided with incentives by the healthcare industry to pursue better care for IBS, or to change the status quo. Even if they wanted to do it, the system makes it incredibly difficult for them to do anything other than what is already expected.
And your doctors aren’t the entirety of the medical system. They aren’t even the biggest players. The major players in the system are the insurance companies and the pharmaceutical companies.
The pharmaceutical industry is chomping at the bit to give you a Band-Aid solution, one that you will ideally need to take indefinitely. Not only do they make money from your malady, the longer you have it the more they make. Where is their incentive to solve your problem? The goodness of their heart? Hah.
And the insurance industry? Wouldn’t they want you to be heathier? No way. The entire industry is based on fear. Healthy people all have insurance because we’re afraid of what will happen if we don’t, not because we love to pay insurance premiums.
But what if you don’t take the medical system’s at it’s word? What if you do question the medical system?
That’s exactly what I did. When I had IBS I thought that saying that there was nothing we could do was a lame answer. I didn’t believe for a second that there was no reason for IBS, or that it was beyond our grasp to understand. That answer was too easy and too convenient for the healthcare industry.
And the only way to find answers to things that the healthcare system tells you are unsolvable is to go outside the system.
And that’s what I had to do for IBS. And when I did I discovered that there wasn’t an answer for IBS, there were lots of answers. Because IBS isn’t one condition, it’s an umbrella for lots of different conditions that cause the same symptoms.
And that’s why I created the IBS Treatment Center. To help people figure out what was really going on, because no one else was doing it.
So if you want something more than the standard of care that you are currently getting for IBS, give us a call at the number below. We’d love to help you solve your IBS. Because if that’s your goal, then it’s possible. As the old saying goes, “You can’t find what you aren’t looking for.”
Please share your stories in the comments below about your experience with IBS in our healthcare system. I guarantee that you’ll find that you aren’t alone.
Related Content:
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Why I Created the IBS Treatment Center
How to Cure IBS Permanently (Reaction Video)
Can I Have IBS and IBD?
Everything You Need to Know About IBS and Colonoscopies
Dr. Wangen is the founder and medical director of the IBS Treatment Center, the award winning author of two books, and a nationally recognized speaker on digestive disorders. He has been on ABC, NBC, and Fox as well as public radio, and was named one of Seattle’s Top Doctors by Seattle Magazine.