CGH #044: Can MDT Save Health Care?

The podcast “Consumer’s Guide To Health” returned to the airwaves in January. This biweekly podcast and live stream airs on BlogTalkRadio every second Thursday at 11:00am central time. Join the discussion!

Episode 44 is entitled “Can MDT Save Health Care?”.

The health care system continues to rant about prevention, but little is truly being done to address the issue. The health care system continues to rant about making care patient-centered, yet puts them in a passive role from the moment they enter the medical system.

MDT, or Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy, provides a framework not only for assessment and treatment, but also for patient-focused competent self care and prevention. Today we will explore MDT and examine how widespread adoption of its approach - from consumer to clinician - could effectively and simply solve many of health care's woes.

All previous episodes of CGH are currently available on my BlogTalkRadio channel. You can subscribe via RSS and the podcasts are also available on iTunes. The next episode will be on Thursday, June 7.

Episode 44 Notes: Can MDT Save Health Care?

Welcome to the Smart Life Project's "Consumer's Guide To Health" for May 24, 2012. I'm your host, Allan Besselink, coming to you live from Austin, Texas (as I do every other Thursday at 11:00 am central time). This show is brought to you by the Smart Life Project, a health initiative based in Austin, Texas committed to providing sports science solutions for training, rehab, and life. Life is a sport - play smart.

Becoming a consumer of your own health and health care is critical in this day and age. The health care and fitness worlds can be a challenge to negotiate. But we are also in an era of accessibility to information, and as I always say, knowledge is power - if only we'd use it. Let's face it though - the inability to challenge our belief systems in the face of good scientific evidence is the primary limiting factor in the advancement of both health care and coaching, as well as human performance and injury prevention. And as I always say - don't shoot the messenger.

The primary goal of this show is to increase awareness of these issues so that people can become better consumers of their own health - from the grass roots level.

With that in mind, our call in number is (347) 843-4753.

Today's episode 44 is entitled "Can MDT Save Health Care?".

Those of you who listen on a regular basis know that consumer awareness is an important aspect of the show. In the United States, there are some significant problems with the health care system as we know it. Chronic - and oftentimes preventable - medical conditions such as obesity, heart disease, and diabetes put a huge drain on the medical system. Beyond that, if we look in the orthopedic world as but an example, low back pain is one of the, if not the, most common ailment on the planet and costs us billions of dollars a year. If you live on planet earth, chances are good you are going to end up with an episode or 10 of low back pain over the course of your lifetime. But I also like to call low back pain the poster child for everything wrong in health care these days - over-utilization of imaging, clinician ignorance of clinical guidelines, non-evidence-based care, limited access to care, excessive costs of care, and, overall, a very passive approach to care. Yet if we look at the problem of low back pain, the clinical guidelines and solutions are straightforward.

The health care system continues to rant about prevention, but little is truly being done to address the issue. The health care system continues to rant about making care patient-centered, yet puts them in a passive role from the moment they enter the medical system.

MDT, or Mechanical Diagnosis And Therapy, provides a framework not only for assessment and treatment, but also for patient-focused competent self care and prevention. Today we will explore MDT and examine how widespread adoption of its approach - from consumer to clinician - could effectively and simply solve many of health care's woes.

For today's discussion, I welcome our guest Curt Rickert. Curt hails from the Motor City - Detroit, Michigan - and he completed his bachelor's degree at Michigan State University - go Spartans! After becoming a PT 21 years ago, he went on to complete the Diploma in MDT in 2006, thus becoming one of 350 or so clinicians globally to attain the highest level of training in the McKenzie Method. In the next few weeks will be making the foray into private practice, opening Curt Rickert Physical Therapy in Kerrville, TX.

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Photo credits: joehardy