It sort of snuck up on us, the ads that said, "Ask your doctor if <some drug> is right for you" [followed by a race to get all the side effects and disclaimers covered as quickly as possible]. When I was in Medical School in the 1960’s, such a thing would’ve been unheard of, but now it’s everywhere. Madison Avenue Ad Agency meets Health Care creates an illusion of beautiful people dancing and running on beaches, free of the aches and pains of living. Sally Fields does calisthenics [you can almost see her strong bones through her clothes]. Older couples travel to exotic vacation spots for romantic getaways. Depressed people play tag with their grandchildren. Beautiful simulated Doctors with empty Waiting Rooms walk the halls with their equally beautiful patients discussing the joys of some medication [revealing that they take it themselves].Then, there’s the other side of the coin. If you write a prescription for one of these designer medications that the patient asks for, the pharmacy calls later and says, "This medication isn’t covered by the patient’s Insurance Plan. You need to get pre-approval." So either you write a prescription for some other medication that’s now "generic," or you call the Insurance Company who turns it down because the patient hasn’t been tried on a less expensive drug first, and you write a prescription for some other medication that’s now "generic." The patient then feels that they are taking some lesser drug – which is usually not the case.
And if you’re a Doctor and want to stay caught up on the newest meds on the market, you go to talks for Continuing Medical Education given by experts who turn out to be on the same payroll as Sally Fields. So, do your doctor a favor – don’t ask.
How about the one where the pulchritudinous “Doctor”, having just handed the patient a scrip for high priced salt water for her eyes, admits to the patient that she herself is a loyal user of the very preparation and the patient is startled by the absolute profundity of it all!! I wish for all the CPAs and all the marketing “professionals” to be rounded up and sent to the same place somewhere far away from real people. The CPAs can count their own pubic hairs or navel lint and the marketing people can do whatever the hell they wish with the results.
I’m just glad they’ve started saying what the medication treats! For awhile I could just imagine lost of women going in and asking for Propecia because the ads weren’t clear at all about what it did.
Now if I could figure out how to get my HMO to carry the name brand of the drug now that the generic has proven to be less effective for me. I went in with an open mind. Generics have always been fine for me, but it shouldn’t take the generic 10 days to work when it took the name brand 3. *sigh*
Smoochie: That’s the problem. The decision is made on cost, not efficacy. Also, much joy coming soon!
Joy: That salt water commercial is my favorite, particularly the expression on the simulated patient’s face when the simulated doctor tells her innermost ocular secret…