Ivan Oransky: Are we over-medicalized?

http://www.ted.com Reuters health editor Ivan Oransky warns that we're suffering from an epidemic of preposterous preconditions -- pre-diabetes, pre-cancer, and many more. In this engaging talk from TEDMED he shows how health care can find a solution... by taking an important lesson from baseball.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate

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[ebowebo]

COSTANZA

[MarissaFrosst]

Stop it with the baseball analogies, just explain your damn idea.

[sciences8]

Overdiagnosis is a serious issue- see prostate and breast cancer.

[Jonathan Bluestein]

George Costanza?? Is it you?

[running90away]

And fyi, GOOD doctors do treat pre diagnosis with lifestyle changes and supplements rather than drugs.

[running90away]

I think his point of OVER medication is true. however, the way he presented this,was misleading. His point of over diagnosis is totally retarded. Better to detect early on, get a wake up call and induce a lifestyle change than to ignore a false diagnosis and end up sorry. When he pointed over diagnosis, it made his whole argument unscientific and biased/personal rather than a fact. He just should have said that prediagnosis should be treated with lifestyle changes rather than harsh drugs.

[CymroGoch]

I don't understand this talk, my country has UHC.

[amorphusensanity]

It's kind of sad that one of the top comments is simply about how much he looks like Costanza. With ~10x as many likes @ post time.

I see a few comments about his data and about diagnostics. Two things about diagnosing preconditions that he fails to point out is that they should be indicators to increase the frequency of visits to check for the condition to start manifesting itself instead of medicating and that most of them are indicative of needing lifestyle changes. Both things "low cost".

[declareworr]

they should have a creation science ted talk channel

[stephu]

His idea would have been fine if patients wouldn't sue when doctors 'fail' to pre-diagnose or diagnose preconditions turning into a real condition. you might save a lot of money ordering less lumbar punctures or MRI scans but there might be a lot more deaths (and litigations) due to meningitis or internal bleeding.

[Typho0n86]

Lol, get in my belly, bet your a fatty too hahaha sucks to be you

[Haley Cue]

god forbid, right? i mean, if he's fat he MUST be unhealthy and has no fucking idea what he's talking about and can't possibly love or play sports.

wrong. fat is not an indicator of poor health. health exists in fat people just as poor health exists in thin people. get the fuck over it.