the strange planet inside my head
McCain/Obama Health Care Proposals Side-by-Side
Read/Post Comments (4)
THE EMPIRE
Fine Websites
Fine Products By Fine People
Very Fine Publications
better living through chemistry, part one
this is raw and rough and needs about twenty re-writes. bear with me, please. i had hoped to supplement this with statistics, etc and in the re-write that's what i'll do.
****
I'm going to give you a behind the scenes look at the relationship between your doctor and the big pharmeceutical companies.
What qualifies me? I'm a graduate practical nurse (I graduated from the LPN course the same year I graduated high school, and no, I am not telling you the year ) and I spent eight years as an employee of United Heath Care. In addition to that, I have also worked a total of six years in private practice, one year in an OB/GYN office and five in urology. ( Funny how the majority of my experience has been with organs below the belt, but I digress.)
As I sit and write this essay longhand, I'm using a pen with a Viagra logo. I also have a Viagra keychain, a Lupron umbrella and a Proscar tote bag. I own about 50 pens (having a pen fetish) and the logos on them read like a who's who straight from the PDR: Ditropan XL, AndroGel, Caverject, Celebrex, Detrol, Ultram, Vioxx, Zoladex.
These logos also appear on merchandise that has little or nothing to do with their intended purpose; flashlights, nail care kits, fishing lures, magnets, pads of paper, squishy stress balls, and letter openers. The list is endless as well as fascinating.
In addition, as a staff member of a doctor's office, I have enjoyed free lunches, holiday dinners, movie tickets and coupons for various local services to include car washes and discount take-out pizza. All courtesy of your local pharmeceutical representative from various and sundry companies.
Pharmeceutical companies endow these reps with a yearly budget. If they don't use it, it is cut back the following year. They also enjoy an expense account of proportions that would make your eyes pop out of their sockets, to include a company car. These reps then use this considerable bankrolled clout to convert your doctor to the their true religion that happens to be...My New Drug Is The Best One On The Market For Your Particular Problem.
The reps come bearing gifts to buy and bribe their way into the office for a few precious moments of your doctor's time. They are loaded with statistics and data used to convince your doctor that Vioxx has the least amount of side-effects (especially concerning the stomach problems of other NSAIDs); that you, the patient, will feel more comfortable taking Viagra (never mind the blue haze men may experience in their vision, it passes) rather than injecting their penis with Caverject; that Proscar does indeed mask PSA results (a test that detects prostate cancer in men) but that this can be accounted for and adjusted.
The reps have an answer to any and every question. They are relentless. They're on commission/bonus/expense account and a mission. They bring goodies to the staff and REALLY good stuff to the docs...trips, dinners, tickets to theatre events and games, spa packages and fishing equipment - well, you get the picture.
They say it takes millions of dollars to develop a drug and lead it through the FDA for approval. It takes at least that amount of money to market the drug and eduacate doctors in order to recoup that money. Most doctors are up to their eyeballs in reading medical journals and taking continuing ed courses to keep their license current. They are bombarded with information and time restricted by patient workload and insurance issues.
Just to make sure the public is saturated with the new and improved better living through chemistry, the drugs companies will buy TV and radio time, spend big bucks on print ads and catchy jingles. I know you've heard "Gotta to go gotta go gotta go right now!" for a bladder control product. Patients will go into their doctor's office convinced they have received a divine message that their wee wee problem can be cured by this drug they have seen on TV. They have been converted to the Best Drug On The Market For My Particular Problem religion.
Can I get an AMEN?
Pharmeceutical reps will bring in pre-printed prescription pads to make it as easy as possible for your doctor to prescribe thier drug. They will distribute brochures and fliers to patients via the waiting room. They will bribe the staff with gifts and food in order to get valuable time with your doctor. They will charm, bribe, flirt and bully their way in. That's their job - with an arsenal of an obscene budget and expense account to back them up all the way.
In light of the Vioxx and Celebrex problems ( not the first time this has happened, and certainly not the last ) my advice is....be informed! Don't take as gospel the commercial with the catchy jingle or the other one about how great your sex life can be. ( By the way, one of the side effects of Cialis is nausea and vomiting. Personally, when i have sex I don't want either of those things to happen.) Question your doctor when he writes out a prescription. Ask about side effects. Ask how long the drug has been on the market; the longer the better. Ask who makes it and look up that company and it's track record. Don't just take a pill withough knowing why and exactly what it is and what it's supposed to do. GET SAMPLES FIRST before you shell out the outrageous amount of money these drugs cost.
And ask yourself - do I really need to take this drug? Is it meant to be life saving (such as blood pressure meds, diabetes, Crohn's, etc.) or is it to improve the quality of my life? Are the risks worth the benefits?
Always keep in the back of your mind the machinations and buckets of money that are being used to market these drugs. The big drug companies do not have mankind's best interests at heart. They are not altruistic. It's all about the money.
****
I'm going to give you a behind the scenes look at the relationship between your doctor and the big pharmeceutical companies.
What qualifies me? I'm a graduate practical nurse (I graduated from the LPN course the same year I graduated high school, and no, I am not telling you the year ) and I spent eight years as an employee of United Heath Care. In addition to that, I have also worked a total of six years in private practice, one year in an OB/GYN office and five in urology. ( Funny how the majority of my experience has been with organs below the belt, but I digress.)
As I sit and write this essay longhand, I'm using a pen with a Viagra logo. I also have a Viagra keychain, a Lupron umbrella and a Proscar tote bag. I own about 50 pens (having a pen fetish) and the logos on them read like a who's who straight from the PDR: Ditropan XL, AndroGel, Caverject, Celebrex, Detrol, Ultram, Vioxx, Zoladex.
These logos also appear on merchandise that has little or nothing to do with their intended purpose; flashlights, nail care kits, fishing lures, magnets, pads of paper, squishy stress balls, and letter openers. The list is endless as well as fascinating.
In addition, as a staff member of a doctor's office, I have enjoyed free lunches, holiday dinners, movie tickets and coupons for various local services to include car washes and discount take-out pizza. All courtesy of your local pharmeceutical representative from various and sundry companies.
Pharmeceutical companies endow these reps with a yearly budget. If they don't use it, it is cut back the following year. They also enjoy an expense account of proportions that would make your eyes pop out of their sockets, to include a company car. These reps then use this considerable bankrolled clout to convert your doctor to the their true religion that happens to be...My New Drug Is The Best One On The Market For Your Particular Problem.
The reps come bearing gifts to buy and bribe their way into the office for a few precious moments of your doctor's time. They are loaded with statistics and data used to convince your doctor that Vioxx has the least amount of side-effects (especially concerning the stomach problems of other NSAIDs); that you, the patient, will feel more comfortable taking Viagra (never mind the blue haze men may experience in their vision, it passes) rather than injecting their penis with Caverject; that Proscar does indeed mask PSA results (a test that detects prostate cancer in men) but that this can be accounted for and adjusted.
The reps have an answer to any and every question. They are relentless. They're on commission/bonus/expense account and a mission. They bring goodies to the staff and REALLY good stuff to the docs...trips, dinners, tickets to theatre events and games, spa packages and fishing equipment - well, you get the picture.
They say it takes millions of dollars to develop a drug and lead it through the FDA for approval. It takes at least that amount of money to market the drug and eduacate doctors in order to recoup that money. Most doctors are up to their eyeballs in reading medical journals and taking continuing ed courses to keep their license current. They are bombarded with information and time restricted by patient workload and insurance issues.
Just to make sure the public is saturated with the new and improved better living through chemistry, the drugs companies will buy TV and radio time, spend big bucks on print ads and catchy jingles. I know you've heard "Gotta to go gotta go gotta go right now!" for a bladder control product. Patients will go into their doctor's office convinced they have received a divine message that their wee wee problem can be cured by this drug they have seen on TV. They have been converted to the Best Drug On The Market For My Particular Problem religion.
Can I get an AMEN?
Pharmeceutical reps will bring in pre-printed prescription pads to make it as easy as possible for your doctor to prescribe thier drug. They will distribute brochures and fliers to patients via the waiting room. They will bribe the staff with gifts and food in order to get valuable time with your doctor. They will charm, bribe, flirt and bully their way in. That's their job - with an arsenal of an obscene budget and expense account to back them up all the way.
In light of the Vioxx and Celebrex problems ( not the first time this has happened, and certainly not the last ) my advice is....be informed! Don't take as gospel the commercial with the catchy jingle or the other one about how great your sex life can be. ( By the way, one of the side effects of Cialis is nausea and vomiting. Personally, when i have sex I don't want either of those things to happen.) Question your doctor when he writes out a prescription. Ask about side effects. Ask how long the drug has been on the market; the longer the better. Ask who makes it and look up that company and it's track record. Don't just take a pill withough knowing why and exactly what it is and what it's supposed to do. GET SAMPLES FIRST before you shell out the outrageous amount of money these drugs cost.
And ask yourself - do I really need to take this drug? Is it meant to be life saving (such as blood pressure meds, diabetes, Crohn's, etc.) or is it to improve the quality of my life? Are the risks worth the benefits?
Always keep in the back of your mind the machinations and buckets of money that are being used to market these drugs. The big drug companies do not have mankind's best interests at heart. They are not altruistic. It's all about the money.
Read/Post Comments (4)
Previous Entry :: Next Entry
Back to Top
