A treatment is something health care providers do for their patients to control or lessen the symptoms of a medical problem, or to cure the condition. It may involve medicine, therapy or surgery.
There are some health problems for which there is no cure — meaning that once a person has the condition, it will be with him or her forever. Some of these conditions require lifelong treatments, such as insulin for people with type 1 diabetes or anti-fungal drugs to treat athlete’s foot.
Some medical treatments are used to help a person cope with the disease and its effects, such as physical therapy to improve balance and flexibility or psychotherapy for depression. Other medical treatments are used to prevent a disease or its effects, such as vaccines and blood tests.
Other medical treatments are cosmetic and aim to improve a person’s appearance, such as plastic surgery or weight loss procedures. Most of these treatments have benefits, risks and side effects that the doctor and patient should consider carefully before agreeing to them.
Many treatments are based on evidence that shows how they have helped some people with the same medical problem, but this is not always clear cut for an individual. Often, different people respond differently to the same treatment, and even in fair tests of treatments like randomized trials, doctors cannot predict who will benefit and who will suffer from unwanted side-effects.
For this reason, many doctors are reluctant to provide detailed information about their recommended treatments for fear of confusing or frightening their patients. This is an unfortunate situation, but there are ways that patients can be more involved in the decision-making process.
The more knowledge a person has about the benefits, risks and alternatives of a medical procedure, the more confident they will be in discussing them with their doctor. Many people feel they should be given complete and honest information about their choices, but the amount of information required to make an informed choice varies from person to person.
When deciding on a medical treatment, it is important to know that not all doctors have the same training and skills. Some are specialized, such as obstetricians and pediatricians, while others have a more general practice. Patients should seek a physician with experience in treating the type of health problem for which they are being treated.
In addition, workers who are injured at work need to find doctors or other health care providers who are familiar with the special forms and requirements of New York State’s Workers’ Compensation law. The law requires that an injured worker receive causally-related medical treatment. This means that the medical treatment must be related to a work-related injury or illness.
Patients can also gain valuable insight into their medical treatments by talking to other people who have the same condition or who have had a similar procedure. These experiences can help them decide what options are best for them. Finally, a patient should keep in mind that the scientific research on a particular disease or medical treatment is constantly evolving. What might not be helpful or effective today may become the standard of care tomorrow.