Why did it take three months of searching, two doctors, an ultrasound scan, and multiple tests of my blood to diagnose my medical mystery? Mostly because my doctors only had about 15 minutes each to examine me and intermittent failures are the hardest problems to diagnose. In addition, I was not describing my condition accurately enough for AI. Once I changed my queries the most likely diagnosis popped up on my screen. My doctor’s theories were correct.
Category: Direct Primary Care
Chronic Illness
Three-quarters of Americans have a chronic disease, such as high blood pressure, heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. More than half of Americans have two or more chronic conditions. Most death and disability in the US stem from these conditions. Ninety percent of the nation’s nearly $5 trillion in annual health expenditures are for people with chronic and mental health conditions.
Just as importantly, most chronic conditions are preventable. So, Kennedy and Trump were right to prioritize chronic disease.
Source: From an anti-Kennedy opinion piece in Health Affairs.
Why the U.S. Health Care System Does Not Focus on Prevention
The U.S. health care system is a mess. Health care system is characterized by inputs rather than outcomes. Health care is reactive. The vast majority of health expenditures are to treat sickness. Every service has a code. Billing codes for services performed on patients are sent to your insurance plan. Primary care physicians are the gatekeepers to more advanced care.
Friday Links – 17 July 2026
- Almost every study finds that paper bags are worse than plastic bags for the environment.
- British NHS update: The NHS is unable to perform 1.5m operations a year because of a drastic shortage of anesthetists, a report reveals. Over 8 million people—more than one-tenth of the United Kingdom’s population—are on waiting lists to receive health care.
- If you are traveling in Europe with a pet, your pet needs a passport.
- From 2018 to 2023, the number of direct primary care and concierge practice sites grew by 83.1 percent and the number of clinicians participating in them by 78.4 percent.
- Tele-ICU: when doctors were supposed to be monitoring remotely, one patient died.
- Sugar is necessary for life, but scientists don’t know how it got here.