Medical Prescription

Whether this is for a physical condition or antipsychotic medications for a schizophrenia disorder, the patient receives the treatment or drug that is most profitable for the drug supplier, health insurance company, and even in some cases the individual doctor. Just as food companies target consumers, the medical and pharmaceutical companies target doctors.

Is This The Best Treatment?

Unfortunately this may not be the ideal treatment for the patient, or even the best that is available. In the United States, physicians will prescribe different drugs and treatments for the same condition dependent on which drug or medical company dominates that particular regional market.

Drugs and medical technology change so quickly today, that what is learned in medical school is quite often obsolete by the time the practitioner graduates. Once a practice is established, the principal source of current information on drugs and treatments for the physician is a representative of the medical industry, called a “detail person”. Basically this is a very well paid salesperson, who is usually an attractive member of the opposite sex. These folks hand out free samples, and reward doctors in different ways for prescribing their brand of drugs.

These benefits include expensive dinners for the doctor and family, tax-free trips, cruises and other events to learn more about a particular company’s products. These companies actually spend more money on marketing than research and development. Actually a large amount of research and development is funded through federal grants to nonprofit research labs at universities, medical schools, and National Institutes of Health.

So when you explore a little further, the high cost of drugs are really not justified by the cost of research and development as stated by many pharmaceutical companies. When you receive a medical prescription, and pay the high cost for the drug, you are actually paying for the company’s marketing campaign. When the doctor writes a medical prescription and checks the box on the form that reads “DAW” (Dispense as Written), this means that this specific prescription must be filled by the more expensive medication (name brand), rather than a less expensive generic. Generics are available for approximately 90% of all drugs.

Why this really qualifies as a model of insanity is the fact that generic drugs are not only less expensive, but they often are also safer because they have been formulated more recently, taking advantage of up-to-date research. Drug companies push outdated brand name drugs to the same patients who have been taking these drugs for years, when they first developed the particular condition. Rather than possibly losing customers to a competitor, a company will often fail to inform the patient and doctor of up-to-date products that are more effective. So a medical prescription is not always what you think it is. Click here for the Transforming Child Behavior Home Page.

When done reviewing Medical Prescription, click here to return to The Models of Insanity page.