Dear Ting Fa,

Thank you for your beautiful question. 

It is high time someone questions on this important social problem.

I fully agree with both previous comments.

Yes, any excess is noxious to health. Of course, the great amount of side-effects and colateral damage brought by excessive medication is a "new" form of disease in itself.

Nevertheless, our urge to relieve our patients pain will lead us to use medication.

The main problem is when patients literally jump from ultra-specialists to ultra-specialist, carrying different symptoms, and demanding medication, adding the huge variety of "self-over the counter medication", that they forget to report. It becomes a sort of nonsense new disease and even the basic signs of their ailments are in total disorder . Sometimes, diagnosis becomes impossible.

I speak as a medical practitioner. This "new form of disease" is difficult to manage, but we are accostumed to it, and we have to adapt.

We are all (doctors and patients and pharmacists) to blame in this nonsense modern attitude.

To make things shorter, I should answer your question with my own doubts:

Is there any use in prolonging our lifespan, if this means offering a new form of disease that is difficult to manage, at the end of a life that should have been healthier ...?

Dear Marg,

very interesting and good question!

As in most technological applications the final 1% has a cost that is much more than 20% of the total. So it seems to be in the case of over-medicalization. 

After all eternal life does not belong to this world.

In mythology Tithonus had the gift of eternal life, but he forgot to ask for eternal youth, so he got older and older. Is this the end of  over-medicalization?

I agree with Livio. It seems to me that it is not necessary to maintain life "at any cost", but only use the means that appear reasonable. It depends from case to case, but the key is quality of life, ie, it may not be logical indefinitely anyone connected with expensive equipment, just vegetating.

Dear Ting Fa,

Thank you for your beautiful question. 

It is high time someone questions on this important social problem.

I fully agree with both previous comments.

Yes, any excess is noxious to health. Of course, the great amount of side-effects and colateral damage brought by excessive medication is a "new" form of disease in itself.

Nevertheless, our urge to relieve our patients pain will lead us to use medication.

The main problem is when patients literally jump from ultra-specialists to ultra-specialist, carrying different symptoms, and demanding medication, adding the huge variety of "self-over the counter medication", that they forget to report. It becomes a sort of nonsense new disease and even the basic signs of their ailments are in total disorder . Sometimes, diagnosis becomes impossible.

I speak as a medical practitioner. This "new form of disease" is difficult to manage, but we are accostumed to it, and we have to adapt.

We are all (doctors and patients and pharmacists) to blame in this nonsense modern attitude.

To make things shorter, I should answer your question with my own doubts:

Is there any use in prolonging our lifespan, if this means offering a new form of disease that is difficult to manage, at the end of a life that should have been healthier ...?

In the era of healthism and wellness, the suspicion is that Medicine is risen to the role of a new Religion with its precepts and its taboos. So it has its priests, its own believers and creates a huge turnover and a wealth much greater than those  fought by Martin Luther in 1500.

Dear Maria,

thank you so much for your deep reflection and for your good sense. In essence, we are faced with the hypochondriac syndrome described by Molière in his 'Imaginary Invalid' . But there are people who speculates and has built their  business. On the contrary, other  persons are in good faith and follow the mainstream without any criticism.

Dear Ahead,

you are right about the serial accumulators of medicines. I confess mea culpa! Be aware though that there are also opposite excesses. For example, women that want at all costs a natural birth for conviction  when there are rather actual risk situations that would favor an intervention. Often in public clinics to save money the administration constrains sugeons to limit the number of interventions especially at the end of the year when near the budget closure!

Good evening

This question touchs many topics and is therefore very difficult to answer.

On the one hand, one can say that over-medicalization is not possible. If we have 'too many doctors per 100 inhabitants' maybe our healthcare system is too ineffective. And 'exorbitant consumption of drugs' shows the fight on the symptoms without curing the desease.

Of course, the pharma industry is very interested in selling drugs. To achieve that goal sometimes dirty tricks are used. So you find more drugs with many side effects than such with no side effects. (Of course, the side effects can be cured with another drug – wich has side effects – wich can be cured with another drug… and so on. BIG SALE)

About ‚harmful surgery‘: Of course hospitals are (at least in Germany) influenced by financial constraint. So they WANT do surgeries – the more the better.

 But these are systemic errors.

 On the other hand we have (also due to financial reasons of the big players on that bussiness) a tremendously medical over-prevention and over-examination (Who prevents us from obsessive prevention). And THIS leads to unnecessary over-treatment. And we have the big problem with unequal access to medical treatment (again due to financial and social reasons).

So I can say that the unequalities represents the actual problem.

 @Livio Clemente Piccinini: I am very interested in eternal live (and of course eternal youth) and ironically people I told about that thought that I forgot eternal youth. Now I know where the Idea is from ;)

But that must not be at any cost.

If I conclude that problem I must say that some medicine is aimless and does whatever at any cost. So the effort is tremendously high while the benefit is negligible. If we want gain eternal live (and eternal youth), the costs have to be decreased to (almost) zero.

So, indeed there are many problems to be discussed – I hope we can continue that.

Best Regards

Andreas

Dear C. Lewis,

you made a list very punctual and disquieting about the distortions of the phenomenon of over-medicalization.

The final sentence then led me into a world known as tangentopolies that unfortunately plagues (as you say and how I did not expect to hear) a very sensitive field like health!

Thanks for your realistic analysis!

Thanks for the invitation, Dear Margherita. Perhaps I cannot help much on this important question. However, everything needs correct equilibrium. If a medicine prolong or improve life perhaps is not excessive, if is excessive perhaps do not prolong or improve life. With respect to medicines, in general, sometimes it looks that is used (in my opinion wrongly) as great business opportunity. As a common citizen, I only use medications when is absolutely indispensable, when is advised by a medical doctor, and normally after reading all the contra-indications and secondary effects, which makes me normally use the minimum indispensable, but it is an option merely personal.

In the US, medication and other health "services" are big business.  We get less out of health care per dollar (or name your own currency) than we should, because of that.  As for hospital stays, they may be cut short to save money for the insurance companies, who have a direct conflict of interest if one expects them to guard your health,  Medication is advertised to extreme levels - and almost comically, they must at least make note of the unwanted effects which often read like a horror story, but people must be fooled or these ads would not persist.  Yet the elderly may find they cannot afford vital medication.  (Anecdotes are not really scientific, but I do find it interesting that a friend was in two drugstores in the same day, not very long ago, and in each case there was someone in tears because she could not afford her medication.)   

As for medical science, from a statistical point of view, I think there is a lot to be desired.  Many studies may be suspect.  I think it hard to obtain good results when there are so many variables.  And it has recently finally come to light that too many researchers use "significance" tests incorrectly.  I published a letter in The American Statistician in 1987 warning of the impact of sample size on p-values.  Recently the American Statistical Association finally addressed the problem in a press release.  How many medical and other studies reached false conclusions by misinterpreting p-values?  

Also, if testing the efficacy of a drug or other treatment is done by average increase in life span, that may be a tempting measure, as it can be addressed.  But how do you address the quality of life?  That, to me, is more important.  

Nice discussion, by the way.  -   May I suggest that everyone answering tell us for which nation you are reporting?   

Medical facilities are good in india and comparatively costs less than many developing countries, hence medical tourism is moreprospective

The private tertiary sector physicians were concerned about their patients alone and felt that health of the poor was the responsibility of the state. The public tertiary sector physicians’ however, were sensitive to the problems of the common man and felt responsible. Even though the glamour of hi-tech associated with MT dazzled them, only 35.8 percent wanted MT in their hospitals and a total of 56 percent of them said MT cannot be a public sector priority.

https://googleweblight.com/?lite_url=https://peh-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-5341-8-20&ei=BR7-iqg-&lc=en-IN&s=1&m=202&host=www.google.co.in&ts=1470960972&sig=AKOVD64ls4cPFB_b8ApLzo3TMP_gFfY5jA

@all thanks for the information 

Dear all,

It is when we utilize our natural ability to generate, protect and replenish whatever our system needs is the best alternative. Excessive medication is an excess insertion of external material in to our body that some how we think will help to either do better on things we tend to perform which eventually degrade the natural capacity we have, faster and become fully dependent on foreign substance. These substances have negative effects in later days, as the body merely depend on them to remain functional but devoid of the natural strength the person needed to have from within in order to lead a meaningful and vibrant life, that is conscious of everything until death. Indeed they may elongate life but not meaningful life, a life of vibrant and full consciousness of the surrounding in which we live in. 

Just a story to share: In the place where I lived when I was a child and lived for quite a while, people some how used to live very long ( I do not know the reason behind) and in later days they become not aware of things around and unable to help themselves and totally a burden for family members. As you all know, Ethiopia is the oldest Christian country in the world and because of that here are several monasteries where people can go and live a monastic life until they die. Particularly there is one monastery in Gondar which is called Waldba monastery. It is said that people who died there go directly to heaven as promised by God - the people say. Therefore those old people were extremely happy to go and die there and it was a religious comfort for members of the family to take them there and leave them as both sides do have some guarantee of comfort in the place after they die.  Because of that,  our mother used to say, God do not keep me until I become burden to my children and living not being aware of anything. She used  to say, I do not want to be a living dead, although she passed away at her very old age but aware of all things. 

Medicine can extend life and reduce suffering, but there’s little doubt many of us are now getting too much of a good thing – and too many people are turned into patients unnecessarily. 

https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/2015/10/03/over-medicalisation-doing-more-harm-than-good/14437944002442

Hello  Ting Fa Margherita Chang

In India, here is trend to take over medicines and also called as misconceptions like prolong medication cure forth coming diseases. But this is severe problem in Allopathy medication but Ayurvedic medications is ancient gift to the India. Ayurvedic medications are taking in every family in india. I am also agree with above all the posts send by various Researchers!

There are two side effects that to suggest that you are taking more medication than you can manage.

The first side effect is emotional lability (being more irritable or tearful than you would be normally); the second is to be so overfocused that you feel "spacey" or "in a cloud."

Some report that when overmedicated, the medication takes away their personality and they feel flat. If any of these side effects occur at any age, the dose should be lowered.

http://www.additudemag.com/q%26a/ask_the_add_medical_expert/1199.html

Dear Roland,

thank you! My focus is also on the word Medicalization. What is your opinion on the different articulation of this phenomenum?

There are social, budgetary aspects, beyond the medical ones, such as the disease prevention, the mass screening, and not last the influence of mass media sounding board.

Warm regards

In Pakistan Cities have large number of hospitals, but in rural area very few. But almost all places the behaviour is same, making of money by tests and drugs even doctor consultation fee is quite high. It is like a business

With regard to unnecessary, revenue-generating surgery, I think the US must be one of the worst offenders, and especially with regard to unnecessary hysterectomies.  I think statistics clearly show that, but here is my unscientific anecdote:

My wife's gynecologist sent her to a surgeon, who wanted to take out everything, including her ovaries. I found an article, done scientifically, it seemed to me, saying that that was a bad idea. (I did not really question the basic hysterectomy.  After all, two doctors, both women, were the ones who led to this.)  But I found the surgeon, getting ready to go on an expensive trip, was a bit hostile when I showed her the journal article.  (She said it was the second best of the two relevant medical journals.)  I suggested to my wife that she get another opinion.  (I had long suspected her regular gynecologist of 'quackery.')   She did get another opinion, and this third female gynecologist did not think ANY surgery was warranted.  She reduced my wife's medication, and the problem was resolved, and she has been fine ever since then. 

I had pointed out to the surgeon that the US had a much higher rate of hysterectomy surgery than seemed reasonable.  (I had done a great deal of online research.)  She just indicated conditions were different in the US.  I did not think her reasonable. 

As I understand it, gynecology started as a field of 'medicine' a little over a century ago, with male surgeons giving women hysterectomies because these women were 'hysterical' enough to think they should be able to vote.  I'm serious.  Now, however, it seems to just have 'evolved' into part of the apparently greedy status quo of the US (and other?) medical establishment(s).  (It is hard for a doctor to immigrate here and get a license.  Also the American Medical Association denied the efficacy of acupuncture for a long time.  It seems to me that the AMA likes to control the cash flow.) 

So, many medical doctors and surgeons are needed for basic health needs which are often not met, yet unnecessary surgery, including many plastic surgeries, seem to take up the resources.  The days in the US of the stereotypical 'country doctor' who made housecalls and got paid with a chicken, and struggled to help people, one of the first to die in an epidemic, are long gone.  Now the image is the doctor you can never see because he or she is on the golf course, or similarly unavailable.  Of course that is not fair to many hard working, ethical medical practitioners, but I think there is a reason that the stereotype has changed. 

.....

PS -  But as George just mentioned, we cannot just go against medical advice without good cause.  

I think this very important issue. I heard from some people of centenarians, that they always use natural food and breathe a clean air (this become as a dream right now) far away from the cities and less use of any type of drugs.

I am fully agreed with Dr. Fikrat.

Dear Livio and Dear Colleagues,

Even in more modern times Oscar Wilde centered his important book, The Picture of Dorian Gray, on a pact with the devil contracted by Dorian to remain young. Unlike Tithonus, Dorian Gray did not get old, but just looking at his own picture he could see his  true figure according to his age, and that he was greatly disturbed to the point that he decided to destroy the canvas, but in doing this killed himself!

With the increase in life expectancy and advances in medicine and cosmetics,  we have become a mix between Tithonus and Dorian Gray, but could we bear the weight of knowing  that we are anyhow old?

Dear Antonio,

thanks for your effort in a matter that you say does not suit you.

I think that in deciding whether an intervention of medicalisation should be done or not it is necessary to do a cost-benefit and cost-effectiveness analysis. It is not enough that the medicine has an effect, for example, to extend or improve life. Just think of the therapeutic obstinacy or a temporary cosmetic improvement such as the facelift. This caution should be followed especially if it is paid by public money, while it might be better used to help the poor, or to reduce pollution.

Dear George,

I agree with you when you accentuate the risk of negative impacts that an over-medicalization  could have on the health of the patients!

Dear James,

Thanks for telling us your own personal story that because of your tenacity has resolved in the best way.

It circulated a joke set in the United States. A doctor said to another: do you know that this morning passed a woman with uterus. And the other doctor replied: ah then she was definitely not American!

It is very sad even your statement that now the collective imagination of the doctor has changed in the sense of showing the signs of wealth through the practice of expensive sports like golf! I think even the doctors have to be very professional and have to do their work and not devote their lives to work. This is an evil that afflicts academics too. We think that our work is a mission, while it is not in most cases, but often to dignify our own profession is convenient to many.

Good night!

Dear discussants,

Andreas stated: "On the one hand, one can say that over-medicalization is not possible. If we have 'too many doctors per 100 inhabitants' maybe our healthcare system is too ineffective."

This is the ranking (beginning from the highest positions) of the Density of physicians (total number per 1000 population) by countries:

1-Qatar 7.739 (2010), 2- Monaco 7.167 (2012), 3- Cuba 6.723 (2010); 4- San Marino 5.1, (2013); 5- Spain 4.949 (2013), 6- Austria 4.83 (2011), 7- Greece 4.38 (2001), 8- Russian Federation 4.309 (2006), 9- Norway 4.281 (2012), 11- Georgia 4.272 (2013), 12- Turkmenistan 4.179 (2002) etc.

At the lowest positions there are: Liberia, Malawi, Niger and Sierra Leone etc.

What are the consequences? I beg your comments

Thank you!

http://gamapserver.who.int/gho/interactive_charts/health_workforce/PhysiciansDensity_Total/atlas.html

Dear Marg,

Ageing improves the net of our knowledge and allows a more essential structure of information, avoiding the excess of sprawl.

A lot of useless notions can be forgotten, hence one can concentrate himself on interesting and/or pleasant topics.

Why should one be afraid of knowing his age, provided his health is good?

Dear Livio,

I wonder what kind of life are you referring to? In a real life (although eternal) you could fall in love with a person who is 100 or 200 years younger than you who may already be your own descendant!

Think of the genetic aspects of the matter. If humans, even though eternal, continued to procreate, how can a person (ethically correct)  take as a partner his granddaughter/son or great-tris-granddaughter/son?

"""Does excessive medicalization prolong or improve life?"""

There is no single answer to this question. I mean that very often the novel and very potent medicines - do extend life , but very often this sort of life is full of intolerable sufferings.

In many countries - the decision : to continue the attempts to cure (practically incurable illness) - are left for relatives, who naturally want to do their best to extend the time of existence of the loved one - but in fact they extend the time of sufferings.

Please forgive me for this bitter truth.

Leonid

Dear Brenda,

Unfortunately I do not believe in the karma. I am agnostic. My consideration concerned  the extention of the life keeping people youth. In this context one person could falling in love with a second or third degree grandson/daughter. In my opinion an ethical issue arises regarding family ties  even if going backward in the time all people are relatives.

Warmest regards

Marg

Dear Leonid, Dear RG friends,

you put the emphasis on the question of focus. At the end, it all comes down to an aggressive treatment even when there is the consent of the individual or family.

The enormous progress that medicine has made  lead us to think of his savific power for all ills even when diseases are incurable in the hope of a longer life or a healing.

Dear Ella,

In front of the personal choice or for family members, few have the courage to say no!

Some religious believers invoke the will of God and are against eutanasia, many others leave the choice to those who knows best.

There are also in this field speculators who exploit the misfortunes of others. The important is to realize the dangers  one can meet.

We look forward!

Sincerely

“More care isn’t better care; it’s just more care.” In the words of my hero, cardiologist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Bernard Lown: “Overtreatment harms patients, thereby negating the first principle of doctoring, primum non nocere.” Our goal in medicine should be to do “as much as possible for the patient, as little as possible to the patient.”

http://whendoctorsdontlisten.blogspot.in/2013/09/winding-back-harms-of-too-much-care.html

I think healthy life system is more essential than over medicalization. Excess use of anything is problematic. If we drink more water or proportionality of oxygen is increased in respiratory air, there will be problems. I think that we should improve our life style and quality of the environment.

I think modification of lifestyle is more effective than excessive medicalization prolong

Among the learned posts, I didn't see any mention of the stress created for at least some patients, by over-application of medical care. I realize that some people seem to thrive on the attention given to them, but my bet is that most people do not. Every new test, every new procedure, is just another opportunity for added stress.

Surely, this cannot be good. And yet, I feel confident in saying that the health care system seems oblivious of this fact.

There's something to be said for "being thorough," no doubt. But I can't help but notice how the health care system seeks to make a project out of everyone. One test leads to the next, and another, then redo the first one, then oh just to be conservative, let's also do this other one. And come back in 3 months. Is this not a roller coaster ride for the patient?

There's something to be said for "third world medicine." If you are sick, go see the doc. If you're fine, have a great life.

Many questions came to my mind after reading this question.

Over Medication if leading to an active healthy life may be acceptable but over medication just to prolong life may make a person and his near and dear ones miserable and dependent.

A right to health care would stop medical bankruptcies, improve public health, reduce overall health care spending, help small businesses, and that health care should be an essential government service.

http://healthcare.procon.org/

NO.

Health care is essential to an individual. And it can be attained by increasing vitality of oneself.

Often people reduce their vitality and take treatments when they get ill. It is good to take medicines when we are ill. But it is better to try to less get ill.

I think that we human are becoming more dependent on our social knowledge and mechanization, and care to own health, healthy systems and healthy nature is being reduced.

 Many argue that the process of medicalization does bring health benefits for millions of individuals around the world. One such benefit is that, in recognizing a condition as a disease or disorder, certain conditions can be treated that affect the experience and quality of life. One example of this is the medicalization of Alzheimer's, a previously neglected disease that was often associated with senility . It is now classified as a mental illness and can be treated using biomedical drugs. In addition, classifying an individual as suffering from some type of biological malfunction may provide relief from feelings of ostracism, for it gives them an objective explanation as to why they may be or feel different from what is "normal."

With the alphabetization the first part of memory and oral tradition got  lost, with the computerization the second part?

The feeling for our health and the medical system are also changing fundamentally with several influences, not everything into the same direction luckliy.

One point is that because of a lacking supervisor to watch and follow a person´s health-disease a lot of nonsense happens and mostly it is because a lot of people and pharmaceutical industries want to earn as much money as possible by any means they can persuade others which would be called reasonable enough.

But for the overall health of the people this is partly useful, partly damaging: it is depending on many other factors i think.

Occupational healthcare is sometimes criticized for excessive medicalization. However, the best results are created when the preventive measures of occupational healthcare are integrated with medical care, because recognition of the correct risk groups and targeting of preventive measures are not possible without the knowledge of reasons for absences and their distribution in the organization, which is gained through medical care.

https://www.terveystalo.com/Global/Yhti%C3%B6/Terveystalo%20annual%20review%202014.pdf

Medicalization can be driven by new evidences or theories about conditions; or by developments in social attitudes or economic considerations, or by development ofnew purported treatments.   Medicalization is often claimed to bring benefits but also costs, which may not always be clear. Medicalization is studied in terms of the role and power of professionals, patients and corporations, and also for its implications for ordinary people whose self identity and life decisions may depend on the prevailing concepts of health and illness.  Once a condition is classed as medical, a medical model of disability tends to be used rather than a social model. Medicalization may also be termed as pathologization or in some cases disease mongering. Thus the process of medicalization is based on biomedical model of disease, one that sees behaviours, conditions or illnesses as a result of malfunctions.

Hi Ting,

I do not believe that excessive medicalization prolongs or improves life.

Dear all

According the view point of traditional Chinese medicine “every drug has thirty percent negative effect, so a medicine is not good for health person, even if a tonic. It is for weak body.

Dear  Ting Fa,

What you are describing for health systems is what happen to all big systems they cease to be only a mean to an end and start to be driven by self-serving purposes.  In small systems it is easy for the actors to see what make sense and what don't.  Actors can act responsibly.  In big systems, in enormous system all actors act in collaboration of an enormous number of other actors and all are being told what to do and become powerless in defining their task.  In small systems actors feel a sense of responsibility and feel compel to dissent if they are told to act against their sense of responsibility.  In big systems, the sense of responsibility is diffuse and at the limit totally eliminated because since all are responsible then at the limit none are.  In a small town, someone is in distress and lay on the street, anyone will stop.  In big city, most will pass by avoiding eye contact.  Big donation organisation become self-serving so much so that the percentage of donation going to actual service on the ground is small compared to admistration cost.  Huge healt system are like that, most of the money end up drained into profit margin of 900% and in million dollar salaries to doctors (at least in north america).  Pharmacical companies are as amoral as the armament industry (remember the last ebola crisis/scandal): they both profit on death, they are masters of death.

Masters of War

Bob Dylan

Come you masters of war

You that build the big guns

You that build the death planes

You that build all the bombs

You that hide behind walls

You that hide behind desks

I just want you to know

I can see through your masks

...

...

And I hope that you die

And your death'll come soon

I will follow your casket

By the pale afternoon

And I'll watch while you're lowered

Down to your deathbed

And I'll stand o'er your grave

'Til I'm sure that you're dead

Medical & our health goes hand in hand .Every  individual desires for good health but we wonder that we are living our life in this direction so that we may maintain good health & to avoid any medical tips & this demands healthy practice ,moral course of conduct & the way of life living for healthy life to avoid Medicalization -prolong into our life .

In spite of knowing the basic trend our mind our mind calls for the action formation of our conscious mind which generates & following practice which are not conducive to our health problem & this may generates various problem of our life.

With this if it is not out of way some time back i have placed my publication under the captioned '' Health - The key to our Life''which i submit herewith for your perusal & also for our valued readers .

I have also consider my expression of this publication as academic interest .

 Good discussion and views. Yes, medicine can extend life and reduce suffering, but there’s little doubt many of us are now getting too much of a good thing – and too many people are turned into patients unnecessarily.

May the following link interesting for some:

The Chinese village with the secret to long life:

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/30/chinese-village-secret-long-life-bama-guan

One such criticism is that the biomedical profession is intruding upon the experience of everyday life, and is doing so to increase its profit in the drug industry. Studies show that with the appearance of new diseases come new drugs as well, and thus a more profitable market for drug companies.

In developing countries , the poor & lower middle class are taken care by public sector health care institutes , while the upper middle class attend private sector institutes . The public sector attend primarily to primary & secondary care  with limited tertiary care , while the private sector concentrate on tertiary & secondary care . There is urgent need for the governments to increase the health budget of public sector health care in middle & low income countries . Countries are classified as high income , upper & lower middle income & low income .

  In any country , health care would be determined by Infant mortality rate ( IMR ) , Maternal Mortality Rate ( MMR ) & life span of males & females . This gives us the overall status of health care . The MDG's & the present SDG's have given importance to health care & set definite goals for middle & low income countries . It is hoped that every nation would take these goals seriously to achieve these targets .

The value of every human life is above all. Nobody has a right to reduce the longevity of life. Society should be responsible for the quality of life of every personality, regardless of his/her age and income. Receiving a medical assistance in time, a human being can live a long and happy life. It can lead even to renewal. A human being must have not only pharma drugs for using, but also available prophylactic treatment in sanatoria. Elixir of life exists in nature. From the folklore we know about apples of youth, wonder-working water, procedures with using hot milk, herbs, fruit, salt or honey, that bring the dead, old, evil or ill back to life, health and youth. Aphrodite (Venus) by Botticelli symbolizes  the eternal spring and life.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandro_Botticelli

It is good that medical science is being improved. But it is sad that people are being dependent on medicalization. Medicines adds to our life, but our health depends upon good food and good habits.

It is pity that larger number of people have problems of obesity due to less physical works.

Pollution is also increasing health problems of people as every thing is being contaminated due to greed of development.

That is my opinion.

Dear Dr Chang

Excessive medicalization does not prolong or improve life. Conversely, over-treatment can turn into obsessive-compulsive disorder that hurts the patient and the cases on the subject are common. The use of chemotherapy also causes severe damage to the liver, kidneys and sexual ability of both males and females.

Regards

Over-medicalization neither improves NOR enhances quality of life.

Over-medicalization is a ploy of the market. It is a profitable enterprise. The cost of medicalization to over-medicalization is gargantuan

Medicalization, when it is necessary for the good of a person, it prolongs or improves his or her life.

Dear Ting Fa Margherita ,

A few comments relating to your question.

‘’with the increase in individual wealth the life expectancy increases And  because there are more resources for education of new doctors and nurses and for the development/improvement of the health system.’’

Not really.  The life expectancy mostly is about healthy living condition.  It is not at all a question of wealth nor of medical care.  And the life expectancy in the US is currently diminishing not mainly by the lack of wealth or mainly by the lack of medical care but mostly by neglect of healthy life style.  The recent health crisis by opoid drugs was caused by the incredible neglect of the doctors and the greed of the pharmaceutical industry.  I predict that we probably not reduce the life expectancy by much if we would get rid of all the health industry provided that we would adopt highly good life style.  But we do not need to go to such extreme.

‘’However, in some countries there has been an over-medicalization: too many doctors per 100 inhabitants, exorbitant consumption of drugs, abnormal recovery at hospitals or at places of shelter and care, unnecessary or even harmful surgery  and so on.’’

It is so because it is more a business than a call to care.  First remedy, lower the salary of the doctor below the average national salary.  Then all those that are there for money would go parasite some other part of the economy and we would be ensured that those going there would go for caring.  As long as the caring sector is a money making industry, it will not be about caring but mostly about money.  The only cure, is getting the money out of that sector.

‘’In countries where the health system is predominantly public, we are witnessing the creation of massive deficits of health (in the state budget) that call for constant tax increases to citizens combined with the need to cut the services offered with unpredictable results such as the elimination of necessary and persistence of the superfluous.’’

The part of the budget of the public health care that is exploding is the pharmaceutical part which is entirely private.  So it has to be made public.  In fact all the basic research in early stage is already public.  We need to make all of it public and get rid of money in that sector.

‘’In countries where the health system is predominantly private, we are witnessing instead the accumulation of assets and profits of the insurance companies.’’

Whatever the form of health system with commerce, it will necessarily be about commerce at the expense of care.

‘’Borderline cases to be reported: the radical operations to which the actress Angiolina Jolie underwent to prevent breast cancer; the excessive control of blood pressure, cholesterol, expansion of food integrators etc.’’

The case of Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, all the Hollywood actor that look like robotic Barbie doll, ….

 Even though I am not a specialist in this field, but I agree that good medication can improve life. But I think in future we will use natural herbs and food instead of chemicals.

I think herbalization is a new science that could weaken the profit oriented medicalization.