When was the last time you saw your local funeral home promoting a health fair or donating to life extension? I never have and don’t expect to because healthy people and long lived people are bad for business. So, it stands to reason that the medical business also doesn’t want to support things that are bad for business!

I’ve often pondered the extreme conflict of interest that the medical business has and you really should too. You see, it is a business, just like a car dealership. I must admit though, it is a much tougher business and people in medicine have to deal with many awful and traumatic events; I admire them for being able to deal with many awful things. But when you remove that factor, it’s, for the most part, a business just like any other business.

The car dealer has a service department. He may not have made the car or even sold you the car, but he is prepared to service it. The whole business is based on things wearing out.

As a matter of fact, back in the 1970s, the American auto industry was caught making products that were so bad, they deteriorated quickly. That’s when foreign cars took over the American market.

So, what does the car business and health care business have in common? They depend on the product breaking down and eventually wearing out requiring more and more maintenance!

So, all business exists to serve a function. If suddenly that funciton is no longer needed, the business goes away.

Medicine is a multi-billion or even trillion  dollar business. Doctors and hospitials make money, pay bills, hire people, etc.  They specialize in sick people; parts replacement (organ transplants), repair, and maintenance of the “vehicle”. An ill person comes in and then, just like at the car dealer, they are told various maintenance items or new parts they need for their “vehicle”.

What would happen if people were healthy? A multi-billion or trillion dollar per year industry would dry up! There would be numerous people having to look for other types of jobs. Yes, medicine is a job just like an auto mechanic. As long as there are vehicles in bad conditon, there will be business and money to be made for the mechanic.

Don’t you think this influences health decisions and even health research?

In my opinion, it’s the conflict of interest; there is no motivation to cure anything or give sound health advice because the more unhealthy people are, the more they go to the doctor. Would you do something to destroy your income? I doubt it and doctors are people just like you.

When I was a child, people rarely went to the doctor unless they were really ill with something that was life threatening. Today, many people schedule their lives around going to the doctor just because they think they are suppose to do so. Yet, when I was a child, people were thin, healthy and lived a full, active life. Do you see that today?

So, it’s important to remember that medicine, and dentistry,  is a business just like automotive repair. We are the automobiles. It’s wise to get a second and third opinion about repair to your car; you should do the same thing with your most important vehicle, your body.