Tag: drugs

Drug overdose deaths in the last 20 years have quadrupled; isn’t it time to rethink the healthcare pill economy?

Posted on by bill
Drug overdose deaths in the last 20 years have quadrupled; isn’t it time to rethink the healthcare pill economy? When we hear about the increase in overdose deaths in the USA, most of us think of Fentanyl, Opioids Heroin, or Meth.  These data showed that 57 percent involved an opioid, 39 percent a stimulant, and 18 percent both. Of unintentional overdoses, 74 percent stemmed from illicit drugs, such as fentanyl, heroin, cocaine or methamphetamines. But 68 percent of intentional overdoses involved prescription drugs, such as antidepressants, antiepileptics, benzodiazepines, sedative-hypnotics, and opioids. Drugs, Drugs, and More Drugs. Drugs in American Healthcare Read More »

Is your generic drug safe to use? Check out this NY Times opinion article.

Posted on by bill
Is your generic drug safe to use? Check out this NY Times opinion article. Many of you who regularly fill prescriptions are taking a generic drug that is supposed to be interchangeable with the name-brand drug.  Generics can save you a lot of money but are they as safe as you believe? In America, we are accustomed to taking a pill for whatever ails us. Regardless of whether this is good for us is a different conversation altogether. For pain, chiropractic offers better solutions than pain pills. For many other health conditions, people depend on generics as less expensive substitutes Read More »

Evidence now suggests that exercise can reduce high blood pressure as well as fat, when compared to drugs.

Posted on by bill
Evidence now suggests that exercise can reduce high blood pressure as well as fat, when compared to drugs. If you have high blood pressure, your doctor will recommend a drug to lower it thereby reducing your risk of a stroke or another possible health problem.   If you have problems with visceral fat or type 2 diabetes, they may have recommended a drug for that such as metformin. While the drug approach has become the accepted standard by the healthcare community and the public, exercise is a scientifically proven option as well.   The NY Times  report on The American Read More »

Are too many diagnoses resulting in too many prescribed drugs?

Posted on by bill
  Are too many diagnoses resulting in too many prescribed drugs? An interesting article in the NY Times questions whether we have medicalized everyday life.   True, many seniors are taking too many medications.   Every physician they visit is likely writing a different prescription for their symptoms.   To write prescriptions, they must have a diagnosis which must be related to a disease. Do we really have so many diseases, or is the word disease and the diagnosis that is linked to it driving the cost and volume of drugs many of us ingest on a daily basis. It is healthy to Read More »

Doctors want big pharma to advertise the retail prices of drugs; will this force them to lower prices?

Posted on by bill
Doctors want big pharma to advertise the retail prices of drugs; will this force them to lower prices? Drug prices year over year continue to increase at rates that are much higher than inflation.  Whatever the reason, the current prices are unacceptable and are partly responsible for the high prices for healthcare in the USA. The American Medical Association (AMA) is suggesting that part of the problem is a lack of transparency.  The AMA, citing an unnamed study says that price increases on drugs advertised to patients directly are over 34% higher than those that were not directly marketed 5.1%. Read More »