Canadian Healthcare - Article Review

When reading the article on Canadian Healthcare, Power, et al, states in the issue of The Journal, that the healthcare system should be commended for recognizing and utilizing this opportunity to increase our understanding of what's causing the burden of musculoskeletal disorders in Canada (The New England Journal of Medicine 2003) Musculoskeletal disorder is a very painful disease that can cause deformity in the bones and muscles. Some medical conditions like fibromyalgia, scoliosis and osteoarthritis are a few of the diseases that can affect the body's muscles and the bones, and if left untreated are very painful. It is in my opinion that these conditions should be evaluated by a physician that specializes in the area of MSD.

The article goes on to suggest that drug therapies be managed between primary care physician and the specialist in order to determine which drug will work best. I believe that the primary physician should direct the patient to a specialist and let he or she decide the best medication. As with any drug related therapy what may work well for one patient may not be the right choice for another therefore the previous prescribed drug may need to altered or a combination of drugs be prescribed, in order to find which medication will work best for the patient.

It is my opinion that this type of system would not work in the United States because of the many people already involved in making decisions for all of us. As well as being way too costly. I do however feel that Health Care in the United States should be made affordable to all citizens in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle and allowing one to not have limits on weather or not to be seen by a physician due to lack of financial ability, as an ounce of prevention can go along way. There are so many people that take advantage of the current healthcare system that it makes it difficult for a person that has worked all of their lives and now can not access something they have invested in such as healthcare.

There are concerns when using cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for treatment. The concern with using COX-2 inhibitors are that it doesn't help inflammation.it actually counteracts anti-inflammatory drugs like (Ibuprofen, asprin, and advil), it has been discovered that COX-2 has fewer GI side effects than NSAIDs, although COX-2 has been known to affect the cardiovascular system. A common type of a COX-2 inhibitor would be Celebrex, which is the only one available in the United States and can put patients at risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

References

The New England Journal of Medicine 2003 Woolhander S. M.D retrieved from http://www.nejm.org

Wolfe, MM, et. al. (1999). What is cox-2. Retrieved from http://www.glucosamine-arthritis.org/arthritis/COX-2.html