SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the how-will-we-find-the-newest-ED-drugs dept.
AP reports that the American Medical Association has called for a ban on direct-to-consumer ads for prescription drugs and implantable medical devices, saying they contribute to rising costs and patients' demands for inappropriate treatment. According to data cited in an AMA news release, ad dollars spent by drugmakers have risen to $4.5 billion in the last two years, a 30 percent increase. Physicians cited concerns that a growing proliferation of ads is driving demand for expensive treatments despite the clinical effectiveness of less costly alternatives. "Today's vote in support of an advertising ban reflects concerns among physicians about the negative impact of commercially-driven promotions, and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices," said AMA Board Chair-elect Patrice A. Harris, M.D., M.A. "Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate."
The AMA also calls for convening a physician task force and launching an advocacy campaign to promote prescription drug affordability by demanding choice and competition in the pharmaceutical industry, and greater transparency in prescription drug prices and costs. Last month, the Kaiser Family Foundation released a report saying that a high cost of prescription drugs remains the public's top health care priority. In the past few years, prices on generic and brand-name prescription drugs have steadily risen and experienced a 4.7 percent spike in 2015, according to the Altarum Institute Center for Sustainable Health Spending.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Marand on Wednesday November 18 2015, @08:42PM
I find this very concerning. Look, when I get a rash and go visit a doctor with years of biology, chemistry and other medical training, he expects me to ask him about some stuff I saw on tv.
It's not just a pharma thing; I broke a bone in my foot many years ago and when I went to the appropriately trained "expert" I was directed to -- it was a work injury so I ended up with little choice about it -- he walked in with the x-rays and started the conversation with, basically, "Your foot's broken, do you want a splint or a cast?" and stood there waiting for me to choose.
No suggestions, no information about pros and cons of each, nothing. I tried asking what he, as the person in the room with the training to make that sort of decision, thought should be done and he wouldn't say. I couldn't even get a list of pros/cons for the options. Everything was just met with some form of "I can't tell you that, pick something and gtfo" and annoyance that I was wasting his time asking questions.
This was before smartphones were a thing, so I was stuck in the room with no information, no way to get any information, and being told to make a choice that would affect the healing. I was pissed; this kind of thing isn't like a haircut or choosing lunch where if you don't like the decision it's only a temporary problem. I still have problems with that foot sometimes, likely because I basically had to decide by coin-toss how it should be fixed.
I've heard stories where people go to a dentist and get the same treatment, too. If we're expected to self-diagnose and pick the solutions ourselves, why do we even need the people that spend years in school learning about this shit?
---
Sadly, that wasn't even close to the only problem I had with that broken foot. The first person I got sent to, I had to sit in a waiting room forever just to be told that he didn't work with that sort of thing, but he could direct me to someone else that could. Of course, I'd been waiting so long that the other doctor was unavailable until the next day, so I got sent home (third story apartment with no elevator, so that was fun) with nothing at all to help keep the foot from moving or being moved or anything. The next day I went back to the hospital, where it took three separate nurses about twenty minutes to figure out how to take my pulse, and then got the useless doctor of no-information.
I'm not a litigious sort, but I regret not suing every fucking person I could over the whole thing. I was young and didn't know better, though.
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Wednesday November 18 2015, @11:16PM
Everything was just met with some form of "I can't tell you that, pick something and gtfo"
You can thank lawsuit happy medical predators and their lawyers and the warped jackpot justice system for that. If he tells you one over the other and anything at all goes wrong, you could sue and probably win. Excessive law suits have ruined medicine in the US.
(Score: 2) by Marand on Thursday November 19 2015, @09:39AM
You can thank lawsuit happy medical predators and their lawyers and the warped jackpot justice system for that
That's kind of what I figured, but it's still bullshit that you go to someone trained to handle a certain problem and they leave you to figure it out yourself. The doctor in my case wasn't involved in any part of the process except the part where he walked in, demanded I make a decision without providing any useful information, and then left. What, exactly, was he being paid for there?
Also, not directed to you specifically, but WTF at the troll mod for my comment. Offtopic I could maybe understand since it was on topic to the parent but not so much to TFS, but in what way was that a troll post?
(Score: 2) by Dunbal on Thursday November 19 2015, @12:45PM
There are plenty of people who think "troll" means "anyone who posts something I disagree with". Just ignore them, they rarely have anything useful to contribute. In fact, apart from calling people "troll" they don't do anything at all. They're just part of the background noise on the internet.