By Michael Auerbach, Editor in Chief
A recent article in Consumer Reports: Too Many Meds? America's Love Affair With Prescription Medication went into great detail explaining how this country has become a land of prescription drug abusers, and how this epidemic of prescription drug abuse is causing a nationwide health crisis.
You can go ahead and read the article – link provided above – and draw your own conclusions. But I have my own opinion on the reason(s) for this problem. And we’re all doomed.
To me, it basically boils down to one word: respect.
At least one, if not two generations have grown up believing they know more than the professionals they go to and rely on for professional services.
And this is not just confined to doctors; we see the same disrespect when it comes to people interacting with educators, the police, and others.
Everyone seems to think they know more, and know what’s better for them, or their children, than educated, trained professionals who in many cases have been working in their chosen fields for years.
Here’s the scenario. Child gets sick. Parent freaks out. Parent sees ad on TV for new med. Parent goes to doctor and demands new med for child. Doctor says child won’t benefit from new med. Parent throws a fit – DEMANDS new med. Doc explains again. Parent demands again. Doc acquiesces and prescribes med.
This is how a prescription drug epidemic starts. The desire, the demand, for a pill to make the problem go away is so strong there is no concern for drug interactions, long-term effects, etc. In fact, to many people, going to the doctor is just a formality, a small speed bump to get over, just to get their meds. They don’t listen to the knowledge, the experience a doctor has – they just want. They have grown up getting what they want. The squeaky wheel gets the greasing.
And this attitude is no different to what we are seeing in schools, and out on the street. There is no respect for those who have been educated, trained and have the experience in their chosen fields.
This is not to say there aren’t bad examples to be found. The good far outweigh the bad. But bad news sells.
It’s easy to blame the pharm industry for too many meds. But, honestly, isn’t it just giving people what they want? If you want to place the blame for too many meds somewhere the answer is usually right in the mirror.