I think I wrote about this some when I posted about flu shots. It's one of my favorite soap boxes. Sounds like your pharmacits friend and I agree.

I fear he is right about increasing drug use. It's alarming how many doctors give drugs for self limiting problems then drugs for the side effects the first drug created which are in many cases worse than the original problem. Then more drugs are needed to counteract the side effects of the first and the second causes side effects that require a third and... Well, you get the picture.

The problem is tremendously compounded by drug companies advertising in the media. Their advertising dollar exerts a tremendous degree of control over the news. Notice the news coverage of a mew drug. At first there are reports of the new drug producing miraculous results then for the next 7 years or so (the usual length of a drug's patent) while there is no competition and the prices are astronomical, the new drug is reported to be the wonder drug of the century. Then after the patent expires and the drug becomes U.S.P. and can be manufactured competively as a generic, suddenly you hear about all the deaths and horrible side effects that have occured and the once wonder drug is now considered practically a poison. Of course you don't learn about the ill effects until a company has come out with some wonderful new alternative with absolutely no side effects (sure). And the whole process starts over.

The problem of over prescribing starts when the pharmaceutical companies provide the pharmacology education to doctors in med schools and continues with continuing pharmacological education after the doctors are in practice. The so called education is actually marketing. It is estimated that 80% of the cost of a drug is for marketing. At one time doctors were even paid bonuses for prescribing (or over prescribing) large amounts of very expensive new drugs by the pharmaceutical companies. Now it's more carefully veiled as continuing medical education.

As to children taking more pharmaceuticals, it is illegal in almost all cases to conduct clinical trials on children so we are giving them drugs that have not been tested on maturing tissue. Even vitamins could have frightening effects. We're really not sure. The 'minimum daily requirement' is still a just a theory. Ritalin and the other mind altering drugs are given to children whose brains are still maturing and may react in totally unexpected ways. We have no idea what the long range effects may be. We should all pray that we are not raising a whole generation of children altered in some terrifying way.

As to doctors having to spend less time with each patient in order to see more to make a living, I think most are well beyond the 'living' stage. I know they've spent a lot of time in training and they have great responsiility, but how many professions can one pursue, much at the expense of tax payer, and finish with an expected first year's income in the six figures? And how many professionals, other than sports stars or celebritries of course, can generate a million or two a year after a few years experience? Doctors and hospitals brought the HMO situation on themselves. They increased their fees to the point where no one even with insurance could afford them.

Some doctors blame the cost of mal practice for the increase in their charges, but I've paid it for the doctors who worked for me and though it may have been expensive, it was merely a fraction of a physician's income and really not proportionally much more than for a plumber or an electrician.

I certainly do not begrudge anyone prospering. That's the America way. But it seems wrong for physicians to whine about spending less time with patients in order to see more and make more money. Somehow it seems that the economy of mass production should not apply to saving lives.

Seems like the patient suffers the consequence of over prescribing and HMO's as well. Doctors merely suffer the inconvenience.

Maybe it's just me. Now I'm getting all worked up. Maybe I need one of those new tranquilizers. Maybe a little Prozac. You think??

smile

[ December 27, 2003, 08:16 PM: Message edited by: smilinize ]