Implications of Having Too Much Faith in Medical Science

In recent times, there have been advances in medical science applied in diagnosing or treating diseases as well as generally managing health. It may be in the form of advanced medical or surgical procedures, medical equipment, medical-related software, and electronic records. Some of this science has helped improve the quality of life and increase life expectancies. However, it also has some adverse effects. This essay looks at the impact of having too much faith in medical science.

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There is compelling evidence that developed nations, particularly the United States, is utilizing medical science too much in testing for, diagnosing, and treating disease. Unnecessary medical care for nonexistent or mild conditions appears to do more harm than good to individual patients. It turns away limited medical resources from those in greater need of them while at the same time draining the economy. For instance, early screening and intervention associated with preventive medicine is now an expensive and risky flop. A good example of this is the screening of prostate cancer. There was a time that men of a certain age were advised to take a test on an annual basis. This is not the case nowadays unless the individual has a family history of the disease or other notable risk factors.

Conclusive long-term studies show that the prostate cancer test does not save lives. Rather, it somehow ruins them by subjecting people to various medical procedures with painful complications. Usually, screening is done too late to halt fast spreading tumors and only seems to identify the slow spreading ones that do not matter and are better ignored. Should they live a long life; most men will suffer from a benign and incidental prostate cancer before dying from another condition. Finding out that they have such tumors earlier will only cause unnecessary grief.

Medical science may be credited with reducing the threshold of ailment definitions. However, it has also resulted in identification of diseases that do not exist. Hope was that medical science would go a long way in helping deter the development of severe cases of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, heart problems, osteoporosis, and others. All in all, the reality is that the science has resulted in misidentification of too many individuals who are not actually at risk. They are then subjected to unnecessary and risky tests and treatments.

The technology associated with medical science is gradually getting out of hand. For instance, if enough CT scans are conducted, structural abnormalities can be found in virtually everyone. A problem occurs in that most diagnoses are incidental and without any real medical meaning. Ironically, many individuals who are otherwise healthy are prone to various cancers from the radiation linked to CT tests that did not serve any useful purpose. Also, physicians have developed habit of carrying out a wide range of laboratory tests. They then treat the results while not bothering with what is best for that particular patient.

It may be true that medical science has led to advances in medicine and the treatment of various diseases. However, humanity seems to be putting too much faith in it. While it is a good thing that medical knowledge and equipment have greatly advanced, it is disheartening that they are not being utilized the right way. Changes need to be made to how new doctors are taught medicine, how they practice it, and the way they utilize medical science in their day-to-day activities.