[ExI] How to get a healthy country

[James Clement]

J. Andrew wrote:

> I was under the impression that prevention is greatly over-rated both  
> in terms of cost effectiveness and actual value to health, at least  
> when actually studied in economic terms.  The level at which it makes  
> a difference is so low that it is not a substantial differentiator in  
> the industrialized world.  That said, the reasons US disease survival  
> rates are much better than the rest of the industrialized world have  
> often been argued to be the result of excellent ubiquitous early  
> detection technology and treatment.  So if early detection and  
> prevention mattered, the US should be leading the pack but clearly  
> the US is not.

I'm no doctor, but it seems to me that the "detection and treatment" process
doesn't kick in until the condition is acute.  IMHO there's a big difference
between PREVENTING a disease and waiting until something is terribly wrong
and then trying to notice it as soon as possible and then treat it.

James Clement