What's that pill for?

Like I sometimes do, before I share this information I want to preface it with a personal note.  I work in a doctors office that prescribes quite a bit of medicine for different reasons.  I’ve seen hospital patients that are alive simply because of the medicines they’re on.  I HIGHLY support using medicine if and when completely necessary.  For example, anti-inflammatory medicine can be really useful to get inflammation under control fast when needed.  That being said, I’m skeptical about using medicine long term if it can be avoided.

A lot of people whom like to deal with health issues more naturally like to stay neutral when it comes to healing by different modalities (like Switzerland, right?)   Regarding medicine, there are so many people whom depend on medicine for their life.  If my father needs medicine for his heart to keep him alive, of course I want him to use it!  In the beginning of my exploration of “holistic healing” I thought all medicines were evil.  Over time I’ve realized there’s a time for everything. 

Problems come when powerful medications are advertised like candy is promoted... “well I’ll have some of this, and some of that…”  There’s little correlation between diet and lifestyle and disease according to pharmaceutical companies.  This becomes like shopping for candy with a child.  Medicines cost little money now because of insurance so it’s almost like a free for all.  For instance, a friend tells you a great medicine she’s using so at your next visit you ask your doctor about giving it a try and so the prescription is written and then that’s another pill to add to the list.  I see SO many patients in office that literally carry a typed medicine list with them that’s almost a page long.  It’s a great move from a business standpoint…once it became legal to advertise medicine publically there was a huge jump in pharmaceutical sales.  To shut our eyes to this and pretend it doesn’t exist is denying the fact that billions of dollars are spent on promoting and using pharmaceutical drugs to treat disease.

Drug companies begin influencing doctors’ thoughts, feelings, and decision making process at an early stage.  As soon as young students get into school, drug companies are all over them.  Lunches, drinks, dinner parties…all the way through medical school and their practice, they are wined and dined.  Who wouldn’t want free front row tickets to a rock concert because they prescribe the most number of prescriptions for a certain medicine?  This is like when we go out to eat and we have no idea what really happens in the kitchen that puts the food on our plate.  We have no idea what happens in the business of healthcare!

There’s a program called “No Free Lunch” started by young students to encourage colleagues in medical school to refuse to take gifts from drug companies while they’re in school.  This new perspective is a good light in how to deal with this exchange.

Another issue with drug companies is that you can buy the same drug in another country for a small fraction of the price.  Canadians get the drugs we pay huge co-pays for their friends in the US, and people from the northern US drive to Canada to get the worth-it drugs.  In a country that talks so much about “free trade”, the barriers that have been set up by the drug company to disallow the re-importation of drugs is absurd!  The drugs are made in the US, shipped to Canada, and then it’s illegal to ship it back here.  This is because Americans need to be “protected” because no one knows what happens to the drugs once they’re out of our country.

Many prescription drugs these days are household names.  Both doctors and citizens want to reach for the next prescription drug.  We literally can’t sit down to TV at night and not see the ads for new drugs.  The reason we see so much advertising is because it works.  They can sell us anything, all we have to do is “ask our doctor”.

Government plays a HUGE role in the pharmaceutical industry.  America is one of the richest countries and we deserve to be healthy and happy.  Yet we’re rated 45 in terms of health and longevity, even though we spend more money by far than any other country in the world on health.  If we evaluate health by dollar, it seems we’re not getting our moneys’ worth!

If you’re interested in more information about the healthcare industry, check out the movie “Sicko” by Michael Moore (our favorite trouble maker).  Top level executives were on the defense when this started!  What were they hiding?  He discovered that the intent of pharmaceutical companies is to increase profit (just like any business).  People at insurance companies actually get a bonus when they are able to deny healthcare (when you don’t spend money on someone it’s a company saving).  Someone on trial during this movie stated in court: “I denied a man a necessary operation and thus caused his death.  This secured my reputation and it ensured my continued advancement in the healthcare field.”  Scary much?

In the worlds’ richest country, an ambulance ride can be denied AFTER care because it wasn’t pre-approved.  When was she supposed to pre-approve it?  After she gained consciousness in the car post accident?  Before she got in the ambulance?

During filming, Michael Moore found there was one place on American soil that had free, universal healthcare.  Yep that’s right…Guantanamo Bay.  Who knew?!  Detainees representing a threat to our nations’ safety and security are given access to top-notch medical facilities. 

This post was written in a “fun fact” style, with lots of goodies.  There is a ton more information with extreme detail that can be found, if you dare to explore.  Ignorance is sometimes bliss so if you do wish to dive in, beware of what you might find!

* Resources from this article adapted from lecture by Joshua Rosenthal, founder of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and from the film “Big Pharma” and “Sicko”.