15 years, 15 minutes, at least 15 different prescription drugs
January 17th, 2008 by Kishore
Below is my friend’s personal experience with the medical/pharamaceutical industry over the past 15 years. I suspect the story is not unique and underlines the profound lack of trust many feel with the industry. Without further ado….
I’ve had a couple of long-term conditions (migraines, chronic back pain after a back surgery) over many years, and so I’ve been to the doctor more frequently than many people my age (mid-30s). Since my early 20s, I’ve noticed a dramatic uptick in my doctors’ pill pushing.
Partly I think it’s managed care, which dictates that I only get 10-15 minutes with my doctors, so they really don’t have time to get to know me, to look at the “whole patient.” A pill solution signifies to the insurance company and to me that they are Doing Something.
Partly it’s our health care model as a whole, which is focused on putting out fires, not on preventative care or health maintenance, alternative approaches, encouraging exercise, etc.
And then there are the BigPharma reps I see in the elevators at the medical buildings, dressed to the nines with their little wheelie suitcases of samples, making rounds.
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