# What are the most important medical issues to focus on in the 21st century **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [December 13, 2013, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257 "2013-12-13T17:49:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257/21 "2013-12-14T08:47:29Z")
Anti-viral treatments, once we have effective methods we might see some unexpected benefits - there is a possibility that long term viruses affect us in ways we didn’t realise, once we have those treatments then we may start to understand them ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257/22 "2013-12-14T14:41:56Z")
The technical aspects of 21st-century medical care will be fascinating. The _legal_ aspects of 21st-century medical care will destroy us all. ---
**Author:** ![computergeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e56c9b/32.png) [@computergeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/computergeek)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257/23 "2013-12-14T16:50:00Z")
Sort of tangential but related, more use of robots in the workplace, especially in more dangerous areas like mining and maybe in areas like picking agricultural food. The less that people have to do these dangerous types of jobs and other areas where the wages and benefits are very poor, the more healthy people can be (by not doing those dangerous jobs and doing other more healthy jobs). We’ll just have to figure out what to do with the folks replaced by robots, especially if they are poorly educated. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257/24 "2013-12-14T18:46:38Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > The people who did everything right added about 10 years life expectancy, and they still died. I missed this earlier. A ten year gain in life expectancy is enormous. In the quote below from an old thread, I cite data to show that eliminating both cancer and cardiovascular disease would lead to ‘only’ a nine-year life expectancy gain. > [@If there was no cancer, how many years would life expectancy increase?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-there-was-no-cancer-how-many-years-would-life-expectancy-increase/508210/4): > > OK. Three years is the gain by eliminating cancer. Look at the middle column of table 22 in [this amazing PDF](http://www.cdc.gov/NCHS/data/lifetables/life89_1_4.pdf). > > For CV disease elimination, the gain is just over six years. Look at the continuation of Table 22 where CV disease is analysed. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257/25 "2013-12-14T18:50:10Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > I missed this earlier. > > A ten year gain in life expectancy is enormous. In the quote below from an old thread, I cite data to show that eliminating both cancer and cardiovascular disease would lead to ‘only’ a nine-year life expectancy gain. I’m looking for the study but having trouble, if I find it I will post it. My point was that if we find a way to reverse aging then it really won’t matter. No matter how crappy your lifestyle if you are 25 you aren’t going to have diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, dementia, etc. If you do everything right with your lifestyle you just delay diseases of aging. They still happen. ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257/26 "2013-12-15T00:45:55Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > In Canada, at least, THE medical issue will be funding . > > Today, even before the baby boomers have started placing what will be a huge demand on the health care system, and as we expect more and more expensive high-tech therapies to be proven effective, [health care already consumes over 40 percent of Ontario’s budget. If nothing changes, in fifteen years, it will consume about 75 percent](http://digitaljournal.com/article/314644). > > “Who will pay, and how” - that is the big question for the 21st century. Agreed, and that was the point in my first post as well… It’s the effective therapies that are going to get us into financial trouble. Joint and organ replacements; the list goes on. And to Monstro’s point, the default notion that the greatest good is always living longer. This creates a default assumption that effective, expensive care is the default thing that should happen, and anyone who disagrees’ is in favor of a “death panel.” We cannot afford that approach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-the-most-important-medical-issues-to-focus-on-in-the-21st-century/676257.md?page=1)