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Give drugs to healthy people and what do you get?

ABCNEWS.com reports that “last year, an estimated 180 million Americans or two thirds of the population, took prescription drugs that may have potential harmful side effects.”

The question asked in the report relates to the prescribing of drugs and what precautions, if any, are medical doctors taking to reduce drug risks.

A basic medical fact commonly ignored by both patients and doctors, according to the report, is that “the same drugs used to improve health can also be harmful.” The report goes on to mention that last year in the U.S., “an estimated one and a half million Americans were admitted to hospitals suffering from adverse side effects of medications.”

In the article, Dr. Brian Strom of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine was quoted as saying, “We have an epidemic of death due to problematic prescribing in the United States.”

The report points out that risks from medications only become well understood after having been on the market for several years, yet newer and more expensive drugs are being prescribed due to promotionals from the pharmaceutical industry.

Interestingly, the report mentions that many drugs are only intended for short term use but that many doctors are putting patients on these drugs and leaving them on these drugs for long periods.

Also mentioned in the report, are studies that show many doctors prefer to prescribe drugs to patients rather then to educate them and that patients are searching for a “pill for every ill.”

The article states a “basic medical fact” as the use of drugs to “improve health.” Imagine for a moment someone that you know that is healthy. Not just void of symptoms, but someone who truly exudes health in all aspects of their life.

Here is your basic question: take that individual and give them drugs for an extended period of time and what will you get? Do you feel they would become healthier? Maybe you feel there would be no change in their health whatsoever, what would that say?

One may question whether 180 million Americans are looking for the answers to their healthcare questions in the wrong place.

Source: ABCNEWS.com Inappropriate Prescribing – Are Doctors Taking the Necessary Precautions to Reduce Drug Risks?

planetc1.com-news @ 6:36 pm | Article ID: 954812168

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