July 5th, 2010 by Shadowfax in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Opinion, True Stories
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I don’t know what’s going on with American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) lately, but it’s disheartening. Their abdication of responsibility and engagement during the healthcare reform debate was depressing. Then there was a rigged poll designed to elicit a predetermined result. Now I see a bizarre op-ed piece in USA Today entitled “Opposing view on drug addiction: Don’t make us ‘pain police'” and authored by ACEP President Angela Gardener. An excerpt:
The patient-physician relationship is sacrosanct, demanding candor and trust. In the emergency department, trust is built in nanoseconds because patients and doctors do not have prior relationships. Knowing that any pain prescription will be entered into a large, public database might prevent patients from being truthful, or in the worst case, from seeking needed care. … As an emergency physician, I can assure you that the drug abusers who use the emergency room simply to get a prescription drug fix represent a micropopulation of the 120 million patients who seek emergency care every year in the USA. … Put bluntly, if legislators have money to spend, they should spend it where it will do the most good for our patients, and that is not on drug databases.
I really don’t know what to say, other than to wonder whether Dr. Gardner and I practice in the same United States in which abuse of prescription drugs is growing exponentially and in which “drug-seeking” patients are a part of each and every shift worked in the ER, where deaths due to overdoses of prescription medications are on the rise, and where diversion of narcotics is a serious and growing problem. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Movin' Meat*
June 23rd, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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Do doctors take care of themselves? Sometimes patients may better follow the advice of physicians who aren’t obese and don’t smoke. That was a question asked in a post last year, entitled “When fat doctors talk to obese patients.”
According to studies, as reported in the Wall Street Journal, it’s a mixed bag:
Physicians as a group are leaner, fitter and live longer than average Americans. Male physicians keep their cholesterol and blood pressure lower. Women doctors are more likely to use hormone-replacement therapy than their patients. Doctors are also less likely to have their own primary care physician—and more apt to abuse prescription drugs.
Clearly there’s room for improvement. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
June 19th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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One of the blogs I read by Maggie Mahar pointed out a new study that found that 26 percent of kids under age 19 are now taking prescription drugs for a chronic condition. The drugs include asthma medication, anti-psychotics, diabetes drugs, anti-hypertensives, and heartburn medications.
According to the Medco study (the largest pharmacy benefit manager), the incidence of type-2 diabetes increased over 150 percent in children between 2001 and 2009. This is staggering. Children are supposed to be healthy and active, not tied to a regimen of pills. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
June 6th, 2010 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips, News, Research
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A recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that one in five U.S. high school students have taken a prescription drug that they didn’t get from their doctor.
According to the 2009 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) that was released today from the CDC, the survey asked more than 16,000 high school students if they’ve ever taken a prescription drug such as Oxycontin, Percoset, Vicodin, Adderall, Ritalin and Xanax. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
March 16th, 2010 by BarbaraFicarraRN in Better Health Network, Health Tips
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There’s no doubt that prescription drug abuse is a major problem in America, and it’s escalating in epic proportions. Prescription drug abuse affects men, women and teens. Concerning trends include older adults, adolescents and women.
On MSNBC’s website, Karen Asp writes, Superwoman syndrome fuels pill-pop culture, and it’s about how “Overwhelmed overachievers turn to prescription drugs for an edge.”
This article is a little misleading since there are many women who are hardworking “superwomen” who do not indulge in illicit drug use. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Health in 30*
