3.4 & a quick word

Block 4 of semester 3 is done. This means 20 days until home for the christmas holidays! I can finally say that these sets of exams went relatively well (much better than any of the previous 3 exams :) ). I might just survive this stressful semester - even though I loved the material we were doing... finally more clinically centred rather than basic details.

On another note, I was reading an interesting article today from the globe and mail (read it here). It touches on the concept of over-treatment in today's medical world.
Are physicians over prescribing medications? should we deal with the common cold the 'old fashioned way' - tea and a couple days of rest? Talk about over treating symptoms with drugs has been present for many years now and is starting to become a serious problem in some cases. (Over prescribing can lead to drug resistance).

I found it interesting how they mention we should regress backwards and limit our use of new technology and innovations in the medical field. I'm not sure how to respond to this. On the one hand, I understand that, in some cases, it is better to do nothing and let your natural immune system battle it out. However, if we start restricting our use of new discoveries and technology, what is the point of research advancements? with new ideas we have to accept their consequences/ side effects.
Do you see where the conundrum lies? When do we say that over-treatment is bad and that regression is good? is it a matter of cost and government spending? do we decide on a patient - by - patient basis where history of medical illnesses is at the forefront?

the dilemma is essential to medical care decision making. As a future physician, I'm not so sure I would skip out on a CT scan for a child with minor head injuries just so I can save money and risk missing something important.

where do we draw the line?  is/ will medical decisions always be restricted by money?
does the scare of being sued have anything to do with over-treatment? (eg. physicians trying to cover all their bases)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and get a discussion going. There are so many angles this can be approached from.