Treatments - My Operation? Let Me Tell You…, Diagnostic And Therapeutic Procedures, Operations/procedures: By Age

One can say — guardedly — that the health status of Americans is generally very good indeed. The caution comes because it is never safe to crow when it comes to matters of health. But a look at our methods of treating diseases certainly bears out the general judgement. We begin this chapter by looking at operations and medical procedures in hospitals — and looking at data a distance of ten years apart — in 1990 and in 2000. During this time the population grew substantially. We added more people than Canada has population. Yet in 2000 we had fewer operations than in 1990.

In one sense this happy outcome is due to our better health status in general, in part due to better diagnostic tools (we detect diseases earlier), in part we cure diseases by pharmaceutical and therapeutic interventions that do not require hospital stays. Thus, for instance, although cardiac procedures have increased sharply, they were less invasive in 2000 than they had been in 1990.

The largest numbers of procedures have to do with childbirth — one of nature's most demanding performances. Giving birth — and its complications — are likely to hold a commanding lead over other procedures in the years to come as well — but here, too, there has been a drop in overall numbers.

We take three panels to examine treatment methods — and outcomes — for cancer. Cancer remains a tough opponent of medical intervention. We look at progress through the lens of so-called survival rates. The government keep track of people diagnosed with cancer, and checks on them to see how they are doing at five-year intervals. From these data we learn that we are doing a better job keeping people alive despite the absence of any breakthroughs. But our "weapons" for killing cancer cells are getting better — and our "intelligence" in detecting their presence has also improved. We are getting the best results with the white population — but improvements are present for both whites and blacks. We are also making much better progress with cancers we can more easily detect.

The chapter concludes with a brief look at alternative medical treatments. There, too, progress is being made.