Pharmaceutical companies used to spend vast amounts promoting their medications to English GPs. (Estimates suggest over £10,000 per GP, with 40,000 GPs in England.) And, because of our tight regulation that sum was probably less than in the rest of Europe. I'm pretty sure that has now stopped.
> And anyone with an ounce of brains should be very cautious about drugs.
Bob is taken to hospital. Bob is unconscious. Or Bob has a learning disability. Or Bob is going through psychiatric crisis. Or Bob speaks a different language than all the clinicians. Or Bob is under the influence of drugs / alcohol. Or Bob is not that bright.
I agree that people should be careful with medication, but it's a shame that we have to do so. I trust doctors, and I sort of trust pharma (I wish there was better regulation), but I'm still wary of meds.
(In the UK about 10,000 people die each year because clinicians make mistakes with medications. Compare that figure to Road Traffic Accidents (about 3,000))
(http://classic.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/27...)
Pharmaceutical companies used to spend vast amounts promoting their medications to English GPs. (Estimates suggest over £10,000 per GP, with 40,000 GPs in England.) And, because of our tight regulation that sum was probably less than in the rest of Europe. I'm pretty sure that has now stopped.
(http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3700513)
> And anyone with an ounce of brains should be very cautious about drugs.
Bob is taken to hospital. Bob is unconscious. Or Bob has a learning disability. Or Bob is going through psychiatric crisis. Or Bob speaks a different language than all the clinicians. Or Bob is under the influence of drugs / alcohol. Or Bob is not that bright.
I agree that people should be careful with medication, but it's a shame that we have to do so. I trust doctors, and I sort of trust pharma (I wish there was better regulation), but I'm still wary of meds.
(In the UK about 10,000 people die each year because clinicians make mistakes with medications. Compare that figure to Road Traffic Accidents (about 3,000))