Don't wait for your next appointment. Call Today!!


You've all seen the commercials. Those people who start out as depressed, staying at home and tired all of the time and obviously have no reason to live. Amazingly, within the 60 seconds alloted for the commercial, they are laughing, training for marathons and deciding if they should use their new super-powers for good or evil.
At the end of the commercial the announcer states, "Don't wait for your next appointment. Call your doctor today!" I am sure that the doctors really appreciate our help in figuring out which medication to prescribe. One conclusion that I have reached is that the small print at the end of the commercials are reduced in direct proportion to the largest HD television screens being produced so that no one will be able to read the warnings.
A very close, elderly female family member saw a commercial for BPH (prostate enlargement) and having some problems at night asked her physician about the medication. After explaining to her about the "plumbing" differences between men and women, he told her that the medication is only for men with BPH. She is convinced that if "more women doctors were involved with developing drugs, this problem would be solved." We all seem to think that, as we get older, medical science will be able to address our various maladies.

I have mentioned in previous posts about the demands of Family Practice doctors and am sure that they love the questions prompted by drug company commercials. Since my tendency is toward simple solutions, my suggestion is the following. Family doctors should band together to make a few commercials of their own. An example would be to show a group of people with a wide variety of vague ailments such as headaches, fatigue, body aches and lack of sleep. The end of the commercial would be the phone numbers and email addresses for the drug companies and to instruct the viewers to call or email the pharmaceutical companies today and ask if they have any drugs in development that would help them. We know that things change every day and patients should keep checking in to find out about any new drugs being developed. I have a feeling that after a few months, the drug companies would get the message and drop some of the commercials.

We are fortunate to have pharmaceutical companies which develop leading edge drugs, but to market directly to patients seems a little crass. Many times commercials do not even mention the condition which the drug treats, but the people seem so happy at the end, we have this overwhelming desire to call our doctor. We all want a magic pill that will make us feel better; read my post on placebos if you want a more sardonic view of patient demands. Many of these medications advertised are more expensive and more profitable than other medications available and the side-effects are enough to give me pause. Health care costs are rising fast enough without "helpful" commercials.

I will not be calling my doctor on any medication that ends with the announcer stating that, "caution must be used when taking this medication if you ever plan on standing, sitting, sleeping, driving, eating or ever thinking about sex in this lifetime. Side-effects can cause drowsiness, fainting or death."  My personal decision is to put up with getting up one extra time per night unless my doctor says this is something that I really need to survive.

TVP                  tvp@dyingforinsurance.com



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Posted by The Virtual Patient at 12/13/2009 7:17 AM
Categories: Irony,Patient Responsibility,doctors,Drug Companies
Tags: Patient irony Drug Companies cost
 

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