Shaw's Eco-Logic

This HND piece examines the radical—and completely sensible—ideas of physician/healthcare reform guru Kent Holtorf, MD.

Holtorf's main premise is that an insurance model, whereby even routine services are covered, is doomed to fail. This failure is based on the rather obvious point that such a model offers no incentive whatsoever for cost control, expect for arbitrary and bureaucratic meddling by the insurance carrier itself, in terms of simply rejecting claims. Related to this is the ridiculous situation in which prices are virtually unknown before the service is rendered.

Is there anything else you buy in which a price inquiry would be answered by the provider asking you what kind of insurance you have? As such, Holtorf says that all prices should be posted, allowing for comparison shopping. Otherwise, we will continue to have a climate of "send a giant bill to the insurance company, and see how much they will pay."

We cover a lot more in the complete article. For anyone who has ever been handed an ice pack in ortho-rehab, only to see it billed out as $40 for "cryotherapy," this article is for you.

This HND piece takes a look at a few new directions in healthcare IT. At the heart of this is a pretty serious role reversal: Healthcare is now dictating to IT. Healthcare is demanding better products, and no, one size definitely does not fit all.

Four trends are covered, including increased use of the Cloud; invoking some of gaming culture; getting more in artificial intelligence; and putting lots more customer service into the mix. Most patients are interested in becoming their own best healthcare advocates, and they will leverage technology to achieve these ends.

Read the complete article.

This HND piece traces the long history of these oils, as they have been used for medicinal, as well as flavoring/perfuming purposes since ancient times. They are also part of seafaring materials known as "naval stores."

Therapeutic applications of these oils have been described in thousands of scientific papers, and many of the oils are even mentioned in the bible. Of late, essential oils have enjoyed a resurgence in popularity, with the public being cautioned to study all product labels, checking especially for purity.

Read the complete article.

This HND piece examines the problem of infertility—more common than you might think. And, yes, we do get into the statistics. In fact, we critique them, which helps us segue into the other part of the piece, which spotlights Mercier Therapy.

Naturopath Jen Mercier does wonders with women who have been unable to conceive, and it doesn't require dangerous drugs, or expensive in vitro fertilization procedures. Mercier has release a new feature, promoting her popular techniques, which perform better than conventional medical interventions.

Read the complete article.

This HND article takes another look at chronic disease—you know, those conditions responsible for around 70 percent of all deaths. For those keeping score at home, we examined this topic last year, from a different angle.

This time, we discuss three theories of the etiology of chronic disease, all related to a state of chronic inflammation: low-grade bacterial, viral, and fungal infections in the bloodstream and gut; stress; and toxic exposure. On the matter of toxic exposure, we highlight a new book, written by a big guru of naturopathic medicine, Joseph Pizzorno.

Oh yeah, there's also a fourth theory, albeit more of a conspiracy theory—Chronic disease will never be solved because there's way too much money in treating it.

Read the complete article.