Is Medicine – not open for hard questions?!
AI and machine learning are revolutionising healthcare and medicine by analysing large volumes of medical data.
As we all have different biological anatomy and lifestyle habits, it is only proper that we are offered “individualised precision medicine” (a hot topic) to treat health issues along with a lifestyle approach.
But we don’t see this happening anywhere around us. It’s expensive diagnostics and it’s all about the guidelines given to practitioners – merely a band-aid like approach to an ailment that we notice.
Humans are creatures and preachers of habit – physicians are time constrained, and most of them have adopted practice patterns they are unwilling to change to adapt to the new methodology of prescribing personalised precision medicines based on individual lifestyle.
The rot that begins at the Top
Here’s a situation: If lying benefits a liar, then liars proliferate – and since some pharma companies and researchers have been caught fabricating data, then, begs the question, what percentage of the data coming out is true? How does a physician know the veracity of this data- and if he doesn’t know, how does he make an informed decision in his practice? The answer to this is that we need more philanthropy-driven sponsored research.
For example, most of the Associations in America – be they Heart or Diabetes related – are heavily funded by big pharma. Their presence, the inherent conflict of interest, the way the research outcome is prioritised, faked or manipulated, and how all this influences the key opinion leaders – the authors of the guidelines, in terms of their bias etc, is simply mind boggling. The bias that comes from being invested in a pharma or a food company is enormous.
It’s a fact that 70% and upwards of those authors who write guidelines for statins and psk9 inhibitors have some kind of a bias due to vested interest in the companies.
For a better world
Unless this deception is removed we will continue to pump medicines and adopt procedures instead of following the new path of personalised precision medicines in sync with a mindful lifestyle approach.
PS: Remember knowledge is no longer a privilege given to only scientists and doctors – even a common man has access to much of it today – that his ancestors didn’t.
Zareer Patell -Blackbelt, Fitness/Personal Trainer and Wellness Columnist (since 1972).
