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Thousands of Australians are living with undiagnosed cancers after lockdowns

43 points by mrfusion 5y ago

newbamboo 5y ago
Understaffing by HMO’s and insurance companies trying to cut costs. The medical staff are going on strike in my area. Their pay can’t keep pace with the inflation stoked by this administration’s disastrous policy decisions. Rents are up 15% yoy, nurses and doctors salaries flat while they work twice as hard. Shameful really.
- m0llusk 5y ago
  This assertion that US federal administration policies have created enormous inflation is popular, but not well supported. Most of the inflationary shocks have proven to be short term and are in the process of correction including lumber and shipping prices. The most concerning price increases have to do with housing, education, and health care and have been outpacing salaries for even longer than Biden has been a politician, let alone serving as President. The long term explosion of health care costs means calls to pay providers more may not even be possible given the huge and sharply increasing percentage of GDP that health care already takes. Not only is inflation not something we can depend on, there are strong deflationary forces at work which is why we continue to be in the strange position of having zero to negative real interest rates. Of course if deflation starts to do its terrible work then that will be blamed on that horrible opposing political party as well.
- StrictDabbler 5y ago
  You are replying to a post about an Australian health care issue with a knee-jerk response that is focused on American domestic health care policies. This suggests that you did not read the article and that you process the existence of a headline as confirmation of your existing beliefs, even when those beliefs are completely irrelevant. Australia has universal health care and HMO means Health Medical Officer there. Nothing about your comment has anything to do with the subject. It does say Australians right there in the headline.
  - tuatoru 5y ago
    In NZ the jargon is PHOs, primary healthcare organizations, for GPs. what's the Aussie jargon?
protomyth 5y ago
The story doesn't really give the detail if care slots / appointments are more restricted or is it the trouble of getting to an appointment during a lock down. Is it the system or the hassle?
- olyjohn 5y ago
  It's probably a bit of everything. And the fact that nobody wants to go places, especially not doctors offices, during the pandemic. That's basically the same reason I've been putting off a bunch of medical stuff too.
  - protomyth 5y ago
    I basically did the same for 2020 but it was more a "don't come for basics" attitude with the local provider so I am sympathetic. In the 90's we did a rural health grant where we equipped an RV as a traveling doctor's exam room. I do wonder if that concept would have helped in the current situation.
  - Gibbon1 5y ago
    I have friends in Australia and New Zealand. Far as I can tell they've been only sporadically locked down during the whole time. So I feel like it's likely more that people have been avoiding care not that they are being denied. I have the same deal as you, I put off going to a dermatologist for the last year. And getting new glasses. I feel like peoples personal agency is wholly missing from the debate about what to do. Outfits like the WSJ are making the claim that the government is forcing people to stay home. When the reality is a lot of people have been noping out on their own irrespective of what government officials do.
    - rainonmoon 5y ago
      Speaking as an Australian, it highly depends on where in Australia people are. A lot of Victorians will resonate with the article, I'm sure; Queenslanders not so much.
    - davidbanham 5y ago
qnsi 5y ago
My father is an interesting counter-example I guess? He hates going to doctors and never does check-ups he should be doing. He got covid and my mother conviced him to get checked up if he has any lasting sideeffects he should be curing. He got his cancer diagnosed only because of the pandemic
- bhelkey 5y ago
  > between April and July last year, there was a drop of 37 per cent in the number of detected breast cancer cases, and a 23 per cent drop in detected bowel cancer cases compared to the three years prior. While that is interesting, the overall trend seems to be pretty clear. In general, people got a whole lot less routine medical care in the past year and a half.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
e40 5y ago
I think this is happening everywhere. I know of friends of friends who went undiagnosed and had shorter life spans because of it. My best friend was diagnosed in July 2020 and died exactly 3 months later from pancreatic cancer. I'm certain he took longer to get diagnosed (I pushed him hard due to symptoms, but he kept putting it off).

43 points by mrfusion 5y ago

Understaffing by HMO’s and insurance companies trying to cut costs. The medical staff are going on strike in my area. Their pay can’t keep pace with the inflation stoked by this administration’s disastrous policy decisions. Rents are up 15% yoy, nurses and doctors salaries flat while they work twice as hard. Shameful really.

m0llusk 5y ago
This assertion that US federal administration policies have created enormous inflation is popular, but not well supported. Most of the inflationary shocks have proven to be short term and are in the process of correction including lumber and shipping prices. The most concerning price increases have to do with housing, education, and health care and have been outpacing salaries for even longer than Biden has been a politician, let alone serving as President. The long term explosion of health care costs means calls to pay providers more may not even be possible given the huge and sharply increasing percentage of GDP that health care already takes. Not only is inflation not something we can depend on, there are strong deflationary forces at work which is why we continue to be in the strange position of having zero to negative real interest rates. Of course if deflation starts to do its terrible work then that will be blamed on that horrible opposing political party as well.
StrictDabbler 5y ago
You are replying to a post about an Australian health care issue with a knee-jerk response that is focused on American domestic health care policies. This suggests that you did not read the article and that you process the existence of a headline as confirmation of your existing beliefs, even when those beliefs are completely irrelevant. Australia has universal health care and HMO means Health Medical Officer there. Nothing about your comment has anything to do with the subject. It does say Australians right there in the headline.
- tuatoru 5y ago
  In NZ the jargon is PHOs, primary healthcare organizations, for GPs. what's the Aussie jargon?

protomyth 5y ago

The story doesn't really give the detail if care slots / appointments are more restricted or is it the trouble of getting to an appointment during a lock down. Is it the system or the hassle?

olyjohn 5y ago
It's probably a bit of everything. And the fact that nobody wants to go places, especially not doctors offices, during the pandemic. That's basically the same reason I've been putting off a bunch of medical stuff too.
- protomyth 5y ago
  I basically did the same for 2020 but it was more a "don't come for basics" attitude with the local provider so I am sympathetic. In the 90's we did a rural health grant where we equipped an RV as a traveling doctor's exam room. I do wonder if that concept would have helped in the current situation.
- Gibbon1 5y ago
  I have friends in Australia and New Zealand. Far as I can tell they've been only sporadically locked down during the whole time. So I feel like it's likely more that people have been avoiding care not that they are being denied. I have the same deal as you, I put off going to a dermatologist for the last year. And getting new glasses. I feel like peoples personal agency is wholly missing from the debate about what to do. Outfits like the WSJ are making the claim that the government is forcing people to stay home. When the reality is a lot of people have been noping out on their own irrespective of what government officials do.
  - rainonmoon 5y ago
    Speaking as an Australian, it highly depends on where in Australia people are. A lot of Victorians will resonate with the article, I'm sure; Queenslanders not so much.
  - davidbanham 5y ago

qnsi 5y ago

My father is an interesting counter-example I guess? He hates going to doctors and never does check-ups he should be doing. He got covid and my mother conviced him to get checked up if he has any lasting sideeffects he should be curing. He got his cancer diagnosed only because of the pandemic

bhelkey 5y ago
> between April and July last year, there was a drop of 37 per cent in the number of detected breast cancer cases, and a 23 per cent drop in detected bowel cancer cases compared to the three years prior. While that is interesting, the overall trend seems to be pretty clear. In general, people got a whole lot less routine medical care in the past year and a half.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]

e40 5y ago

I think this is happening everywhere. I know of friends of friends who went undiagnosed and had shorter life spans because of it. My best friend was diagnosed in July 2020 and died exactly 3 months later from pancreatic cancer. I'm certain he took longer to get diagnosed (I pushed him hard due to symptoms, but he kept putting it off).