Obama transition health care e-forum for Waccobb community: question 6

[Dynamique]

Q: Below are examples of the types of preventive services Americans should receive. Have you gotten the prevention you should have? If not, how can public policy help?

Screening Mammography
All of the major professional societies that make recommendations about breast cancer screening recommend that women age 50 and older get a routine annual screening mammography for breast cancer. Many of these societies recommend that women should undergo such screening at age 40. Yet, only 71.8% of women age 50-64 and 63.8% of women 65 or older received a screening mammogram in 2005.

Flu Shots
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all adults over the age of 50 receive an annual vaccine against influenza. Yet, in 2006, only 45.9% of adults over the age of 50 received a flu shot.

Cholesterol Screening
The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force recommends that doctors routinely screen men ages 35 years and older and women ages 45 years and older for high cholesterol. Yet, according to data from 2007, only 74.9% of adults in the U.S. had their cholesterol checked within the past five years.

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Response from in-person forum:
We question the types of preventive screenings that are examples here. (i.e. screening mammography, flu shots and cholesterol screening.) Your practitioner and the type of practice you are following should determine the preventive paradigm you engage in, not Big Pharma's dogma. We strongly want to increase the types of preventive and wellness programs that alternative practitioners specialize in.

Because of this we STRONGLY FEEL that alternative practitioners should absolutely be incorporated in the health care reform policies. Preventive care should also be focused on in schools starting with young children, and providing healthier meals at schools. Dental check-ups and cleanings should also be covered by the healthcare reform policies.