This blog is about my total frustration with modern doctors and their lack of understanding of Thomas Bayes.
If you do not know about Thomas Bayes. then go look it up. He was a minister back in the 1700's who was trying to prove there was a God when he stumbled onto one of the most significant concepts in probability. Today, I am going to take out my frustration with actual doctors of today.
Several weeks ago I bumped into a sticking out board in my shop and it hit right on my ribs on my right side. It really hurt at the time and I got a big burse from it. It stayed sore for a couple of weeks and I noticed later that there was a small lump below the skin. so I went to the doctor.
He examined it and found that it was below my right breast so he scheduled me for a mama gram. Men don't normally get mana grams, but he wanted one. I went in and had the mama gram and to my surprise, they wanted me to also have an ultra sound. That is where I started thinking that "this was enough". I asked to speak with the person who was reading the mama gram and I did. He was a few hundred miles away and only saw the images on his computer. I challenged the need for a ultra sound. He explained that there was no involvement of either of my breasts and that he was not sure about the small lump. I then explained that I had bumped the spot and that I was 83 years old. I jumped to the bottom line and asked if he knew the cost of these tests and if they were worth it. He said that he did not know what the cost was. At that point, I challenged how he could determine the worth if he did not know the cost. His response was that it was the "standard protocol". I then asked if the protocol was the same for a 25 year of and an 83 years old and he said "yes". He detected that he was not speaking with some simpleton and went on to explain that the additional ultra sound did not have a good chance of explaining exactly what the lump was. At that point, I called off any further testing, He then agreed with me.
Can you now see why medical costs in the USA are so high while we are still far down the list when it comes to life expectancy? Next time you deal with a medical doctor, ask them if they are familiar with "Bayes Theron". If they plead ignorance, get another doctor. You could even ask them how much the visit or any tests will cost and if they do not know, get another doctor.
It is a very sad situation that we all find ourselves in and it will only change if we start demanding it..
