The diagram shows the result of one British study in which people were asked what they had done about recent health problems they considered worrisome. The researchers found that subjects had dealt with 79 percent of all problems entirely on their own. When subjects consulted a physician they usually did so only after attempting self-treatment.(1)
A more recent U.S. study asked 1,200 healthy adults how many health problems of any kind they had experienced in the previous two weeks. The researchers concluded that the average North American experiences a staggering 117 health problems per year.(2)
Since the typical North American makes only one or two doctor visits per year, this study implies that we serve as our own doctors roughly 99 percent of the time. If only one percent of the people who presently use self-care decided to visit a doctor instead, there would be a 100 percent increase in the number of doctors' visits. These figures lead to the inescapable conclusion that virtually all health care is self-care.
| No treatment | 41% |
| Home remedy | 15% |
| Prescription drug already present in the home | 12% |
| Over-the-counter medication | 38% |
In the opinion of a panel of physicians, the advice the subjects received from friends and family members was quite sound. The best advice of all came from pharmacists, nurses, and relatives. Among family members, wives provided the best advice.
| Not Seen by Professional | 79% |
| Did Nothing | 16% |
| Self Care Only | 63% |
| Seen By Professional | 21% |
| Self-Care Plus Doctor Visit | 12% |
| Doctor Visit Only | 8% |
| Directly to Hospital | 1% |
Elliott-Binns concluded:
"It is most interesting that 96 percent of patients had received advice or treatment before coming to the physician. Is it justifiable to call the family doctor the source of primary care?"(4)
Clearly it is not. As this study makes dramatically clear, the real primary care is self-care.
REFERENCES