Our Current Chronic Health Care System is Chronically Ill

Our Current Chronic Health Care System is Chronically Ill

January 2026.  We have a chronic illness problem in North America and this can be attributed to a number of factors including lifestyle, environmental toxins and to those who regulate our health care system. [diagram from Globe and Mail].

I work with many different types of health care providers, mostly in North America and Europe, as part of my research and for my personal health.  This includes medical doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors, nurses, nutritionists, surgeons, radiologists, chemotherapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, body workers, energy workers, acupuncturists, dentists, homeopathic doctors etc.  In my professional and personal dealings, some disturbing features have come to light.

For example, I work with “healers”.  I use this term deliberately to imply that these individuals practice the art and science of wellbeing.  They combine their training, their intuition, their experiences and those of colleagues and they remain curious as they try to get to the root cause of an illness.  I also was work with “western” doctors and nurses who have had traditional training based on the recommendation in the Flexner Report  and who may or may not keep up with the latest advances within their field.  They follow the rules:  First, do no harm with the second rule being:  Don’t stray from your lane.  I’m not referring to an Olympic runner but rather to a race horse that has blinders on.

Medical associations and medical authorities including government agencies have recently stepped way outside their own lane and they are tripping up the licensed practitioners who fall within their realm of “authority”.

This became crystal clear once all the dust settled regarding the way the covid-19 pandemic was handled.  Suddenly, everyone in authority, but not those doing the work, were telling doctors which type of treatment was allowed.  Not what treatments were recommended but rather what “they” mandated and ONLY what “they” mandated no matter the outcome.  Clearly, this is not in the best interest of either patient or practitioner, when doctors and nurses are blindly forced to follow a regime that may contradict their first moto … First, do no harm.

I recently watched a short video clip of a very talented comedian who, mentioning Covid, began his gig by referring to the ridicule many experienced during the outbreak.   He started by saying things like … You’re not going to do you own research are you?  Implying that there is something wrong with doing research.

…Research used to be called “reading”, he said.  Some were ridiculed because they wanted to know more and were “reading”.  How insane is this?

Then he gave an analogy.  You tell your friend that you are going to buy a car. 

…Your friend would never say, “but you aren’t going to do your own research!”

…But how would I know which car to buy?

…Ask the experts!

…Who are the experts?

…The salesperson.

Who are the experts when it comes to health care?  Is it the health authorities, government agencies, insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry or is it the doctor in consultation with their patient?

Yes, doctors and nurses and other health care providers need to be regulated but one of the best ways is self-regulation.  A patient is entitled to ask for a second or third opinion and additional rules and regulations need to be followed but NOT those that overstep the boundary between physician and patient.

Twelve Commandants for Health Care Regulators:

1. Do not over regulate.
2. Do not ask doctors to breach their oath of confidentiality to their patients without their patient’s permission.
3. Do not prohibit experimental treatments should the patient and at least two independent experts agree–especially experts independent of financial interests.
4. Do not allow political or financial matters to interfere with health care services as political bodies and insurance agencies should not be the decision makers about the type and quality of care provided to patients.
5. Do not shy away from novel technologies or techniques.
6. Do not take away medical licenses if there is no evidence of misconduct.
7. Do enable doctors to minimize symptoms and thus provide immediate comfort but also encourage them to search for the root cause of the illness to prevent chronic conditions developing.
8. Do provide educational and training resources/opportunities to health care providers.
9. Do allow personal convictions and religious matters to help shape the decision and do take patient’s wishes into account.
10. Do encourage complementary practices.
11. Do encourage doctors to share or otherwise publish their case studies and thus advance our universal understanding.
12. Do encourage governing bodies to better regulate external contributors to chronic illness including environmental regulators to ensure that air quality, water quality, food quality, treatment quality (drugs and devices), working conditions and other external environmental stressors are either minimized or eliminated to enable the body to heal.

It is now time for the pendulum to correct itself and make our medical, health care, wellness systems function as they were initially intended … for the benefit of patients and society alike.