Re: Too Much Medicare "Care" Again


"Herman Rubin" <hrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:euhqji$3g3i@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <fpWOh.132412$_73.4979@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
George Conklin <georgeconklin1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Herman Rubin" <hrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:euh4bi$49fi@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <8NMOh.16154$PL.8320@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
George Conklin <georgeconklin1@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

"Herman Rubin" <hrubin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:euf88f$5400@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The question of what procedure is best for that particular
patient is unlikely to be answered in the next century, and
probably not in the next millennium. It is not a "scientific"
question of whether there is a "significant difference"; it
is a question what to do NOW for a particular patient, and
even if all the physical evidence is the same, the patient's
value system can make big differences.

You put too much faith in crude statistical methods; as a
statistician, I KNOW why they very often give wrong results,
and also, we cannot wait forever.

Well, Herman, values are not going to determine a procedure is
effective. That is mysticism. Ok, medicine often does not include
many
variables, including known factors such as socio-economic status, as
the
HRT
self-selection biases showed. But some of that can be fixed.

You see to have difficulty that, in comparing prognoses,
people will differ. People do not share the same values,
and it is not just socio-economic status, but real
individual differences. I consider living in even a
semi-vegetative state worse than death, but few doctors
seem to go along with that.


Mean survial times after diagnosis do not assume semi-vegetative states
Herman. With good drug treatment (not commonly found in the USA due to the
police) even terminal cancer patients can be kept comfortable and simply
quietly die while still being up and around and active.


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Too Much Medicare "Care" Again
    ... George Conklin wrote: ... intelligent decision of the patient with the doctor helping ... are those of the Statistics Department or of Purdue University. ... Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University ...
    (talk.politics.medicine)
  • Re: Too Much Medicare "Care" Again
    ... George Conklin wrote: ... patient is unlikely to be answered in the next century, ... Herman Rubin, Department of Statistics, Purdue University ...
    (talk.politics.medicine)
  • Re: Too Much Medicare "Care" Again
    ... George Conklin wrote: ... and risks associated with a drug should be based on the ... intelligent decision of the patient with the doctor helping ... My balance of these is not that of the FDA. ...
    (talk.politics.medicine)