Thursday, April 11, 2013
Why not?
NPR reports on a promising new method of detecting the trace of pain in the brain.
One of the researchers says: "I don't think that this kind of method can or should ever be used as a pain lie detector."
Why the hell not? Chronic pain is a deadly serious problem for many people, sometimes leading to suicide... AND chronic pain is also a rich source of fraudulent medical bills and fake disability claims.
RESOURCES ARE FINITE, dammit. Screechy moral scrupulosity helps nobody. If this scan can separate fakers from real sufferers, resources and payments can be focused on the real sufferers. If the public knows you're focused on a real problem, you'll have more public credibility.
Technology already serves a similar purpose in other 'subjective' areas of medicine like hearing loss. Audiologists have always been tasked with distinguishing malingerers, and newer machines like OAE and impedance audiometers can spot the frauds quickly and certainly. Why not do the same with pain?
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