BenefitsAll

High Prescription Drug Usage Is As Bad As High Prescription Drug Costs

November 25, 2015


According to the headlines in the mainstream media and health news sites pharmaceutical companies are in the hot seat.

It seems everyone is concerned about high prescription drug costs.  But right now I'm more concerned about high prescription drug prescribing and usage.  Why?  It's personal.  While a doctor has never, thankfully, prescribed me drugs, someone very special to me has 14 active prescriptions.  She's just under 50 and has some health issues, but she's hardly in need of 14 different drugs to treat them.  She admits to regularly taking nine (9) of the 14 prescriptions because five (5) of them made her feel ill.

However, recently, she had a serious medical episode that resulted in a trip to the emergency room and a hospital stay.   The emergency room doctor told her that the episode was related to the many prescriptions she was taking--three different ones for cholesterol alone.  The worst part is that all of the doctors she sees regularly and have prescribed her medication are aware of all of the other medications she takes.  Not one of them ever expressed a concern or advised her that taking so many prescriptions could have serious complications and side effects.

You're probably thinking she must be doing something wrong if she needs to take so many prescription drugs.  Well, yes, many of her health issues are lifestyle related and with some hard work she can control them better.  I'm all for personal responsibility when it comes to health, but I'm not willing to overlook the epidemic of overprescribing because I think someone should eat better and exercise more.  I also don't believe that 14 different drugs, many to treat the same condition, are necessary to keep a person alive in functioning.

There's a real problem with the American medical system using drugs to treat nearly every ailment.  And that's no exaggeration.  According to a Centers for Disease Control (CDC) survey, between 1999  and 2008 prescription drug spending doubled.  In that same period Americans taking five or more prescriptions rose 70 percent.  The medical establishment can blame increasing prescription drug use on TV ads if they want, but that's just an excuse.  The doctors who prescribe this medication have the ultimate and total responsibility for the outcomes.

Yes, high prescription drug costs is a problem, but it is a secondary concern to high prescription drug prescribing and usage.

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