First, The Summary
Per PBS News as reported by Hari Sreenivasan: “Secretary of State Hillary Clinton returned to work today after a month-long health scare. She came down with a stomach virus last month that left her severely dehydrated. Then, she fainted, struck her head and suffered a concussion, and days later, doctors discovered a blood clot in her head.”Now, The Rest
Ray Suarez of PBS interviewed Dr. Gholam Motamedi of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital regarding blood clots. The doctor provided a basic explanation of causes. The interviewer then said “Well, in the case of Mrs. Clinton, we know that during an earlier illness she became light-headed, fainted and then hit her head and concussed, Could it be a side-effect of the concussion?” Dr. Motamedi indicated that concussion in an adult is actually not a known cause of blood clot and that to get a blood clot this way is very rare. He then went on to say, “I doubt it was directly related to concussion because in general it's not known to be caused by that.” When I heard this on December 31, 2012, my immediate thought was, “but she fell and hit her head and then they found a blood clot in her head, why wouldn't it be related to the concussion?” Watch the five minute, PBS Newshour segment, “Hillary Clinton's Hospitalization Sheds Light on Blood Clot Causes, Treatments” which aired Monday, December 31, 2012. Interviewer Ray Suarez of PBS and Interviewee Dr. Gholam Motamedi of MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.Finally, the Conclusion
Nowhere in the doctor's response to the specific question about Hillary did he consider case-specific information. This was not patient-centered but generality-centered care. Make sure none of your doctors are like this one. Clearly, man-made “expertise” is not a good substitute for common sense and intuition. This is why the best healthcare in addition to common sense is getting nutrition, avoiding mind-centered living and being your own fight doctor. In contrast to Dr. Motamedi, Dr. Keri Peterson, Internal Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital states “from a medical standpoint, a concussion can predispose somebody to a blood clot, so it is very likely that the injury that she sustained earlier this month is the cause of this current clot.”(starting at minute 1:01) Related:Health & Nutrition: Information Stupid
Doctor's Dimension, The
Additional Thoughts: If I am a patient with a doctor who uses this kind of reasoning and I go along with it, I should simultaneously throw up both my hands, holler and run butt-naked through the doctor's office just to confirm I must be crazy. I should also fully expect the office staff to merely say, "Would you like to make another appointment?"
