Yesterday morning, Elena and I gave a stool sample for our Cologuard kits provided by Kaiser Permanente. Our kits will go to a laboratory. Genetic tests will be run to see if we have colon cancer. The test is not perfect, but it is pretty good.
For thousands of years, people all over the
world went to the doctor when they were feeling ill. In the 1990s, Dr. Robert
Pearl became the CEO of The Permanente Medical Group. He came up with a new
idea for treatment. It would make life better for the patient and cut
healthcare costs at the same time. The patient would visit their primary care
physician once a year. A physical examination would be performed. The patient
would be sent to a laboratory where blood would be drawn, and a urine sample
taken. Problems would be detected while they were small and treated. For
example, if a patient's blood sugar was getting high and the patient was not
yet diabetic, diet and exercise would be recommended to reduce the blood sugar
level. Cholesterol and triglycerides would be monitored. A patient would be put
on medications if these measures were out of normal areas. This would save a
lot of patients from heart attacks and other cardiac problems. I have no doubt
that I would have had a heart attack by now had I not been getting this
treatment.
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