It's one thing to talk about the numbers and percentages related to all the mistakes made, more often than you'd expect, in an American medical setting. Seeing the people it affects up close and personal like in this video, however, really brings the point home.

The last thing you want to do is go through the needless trauma this woman went through as a result of a mistaken diagnosis -- which is why you simply must take better responsibility for your own health today.

The conventional medical system, not heart disease or cancer, is the leading cause of death in this country. Yet, in all fairness, physicians themselves are not the primary reason; they are under the pernicious influence of the multi-billion-dollar marketing umbrella of the drug companies.

Largely because of their influence, which is solely focused on selling more drugs and making more money, rather than actually curing patients, the conventional medical paradigm is fatally flawed.

The majority of health care workers observe mistakes made by their peers but rarely do anything to challenge them. The death rate actually decreases when doctors go on strike, and deaths blamed on mistakes made with prescription drugs sold at pharmacies spike at the beginning of each month when workloads, and therefore error rates, increase.

The sad tragedy is that we are spending an obscene amount on progressively increasing insurance premiums for a system that is based on disease management focused on drugs and surgery.

Our return on the $2-trillion investment in the United States clearly seems unjustified. Our country simply cannot afford this nightmare mess and gets nothing -- except lining the pockets of pharmaceutical companies -- in return. The system is crumbling before our eyes.

On Vital Votes, Tom from Grandview, Ohio was particularly struck by the events depicted in the video:

"A billion dollar settlement could never replace what she and her family lost. Damn those so-called medical professionals who settle into mediocrity, and let such things happen. A real professional would encourage second, and even third opinions.

 

"Being proven wrong in such instances is what a real pro would hope for. Better to be proven wrong on a diagnosis than through irreversible damage through  medical malfeasance. Unforgivable arrogance and vanity is much too prevalent in the medical establishment."

Other responses to this article can be viewed at Vital Votes, and you can add your own thoughts or vote on comments by first registering at Vital Votes.