My name is Victor and I am the manager for a high volume community pharmacy and have been for the past 15 years. I have seen many things in that time and have known many many people with different ailments and treatments, from chipped fingernails to cancer and AIDS, I've seen it all.

The one thing that stands out the most is how badly medicated we are. The average person, and by average I mean 35 plus with high blood pressure, takes 3 to 5 pills daily. That's without adding diabetes to the mix, which more and more people becoming diabetic you can easily add between 1 and 3 pills and or insulin to the average.

Have you ever wondered why you are in fact taking so many pills? It is very possible that your current mix of pills is necessary and I am not trying to second guess you doctor but there is one very important fact to consider. You can not buy a prescription drug without a prescription and the only way to get one is through a doctor. How do the pharmaceutical manufacturers get a doctor to prescribe their latest greatest drug? You use a salesman or the technical term: Medical Propagandist. The pharmaceutical industry relies on medical propagandist to do their selling. The sole job of this person is to convince doctors that the product that they represent is better than any other product out there and they even give out samples so that the doctor can do trial runs on his patients. Their is nothing wrong with this, you might be thinking, but let me shed some light on this for you.

In my town, the medical propagandist ( lets call em MP for short ) in general, usually visits the 2nd week of every month. During that week I can guarantee you that at least 3 doctors in town will stop prescribing the usual ( all doctors have favorite meds) and start prescribing the flavor of the week. My pharmacy fills an average of 300 prescriptions a day and when you start to see 10 or 20 prescriptions for the same medicine, you begin to wonder.

We have one doctor in particular that prescribes this one injectable anti-biotic to everyone that he sees that day. You can easily see 15 plus prescriptions for that same drug, the day that the MP comes. Don't miss the best part though - The MP's also visit the pharmacy and ask how their products are being prescribed versus the competition and which doctors in the area are and are not prescribing, so that they can adjust marketing strategies.

Just look at this example : I know one MP that would ask us " Is Dr. Smith prescribing our ABC cough syrup?" We would tell him no( It was a really bad product that very few doctors would prescribe) Dr Smith is prescribing the 123 cough syrup( the competition) a lot. The MP would tell us " I'm leaving him a case, that's 36 bottles of ABC every month, I'm going to talk to him and leave him 2 cases a month." Sure enough about 2 days later every prescription for a cough syrup from Dr. Smith was for ABC cough syrup. Now if that is not a corrupt business model, then I don't know what is. Did the doctor suddenly decide that ABC is therapeutically superior to 123? Is ABC suddenly the cough syrup that everybody with a cough needs?

Have you noticed how much advertising the pharmaceutical companies are doing? Just pick up your favorite magazine and I'm sure you will see at least one ad. Now check out any one of the popular family magazines and you will see tons and tons of ads for new drugs. There is one magazine that has a drug advertisement every 5 to 10 pages, that's ridiculous! That magazine in particular almost looks like a PDR which is a reference book that we use in pharmacy.

Suggestion Marketing :

You have seen the pictures in the magazines and the commercials on TV. People running through the park and having fun or a guy washing his car, all smooth and slick high dollar advertisements. The drug companies are taking advantage of something that I call: Suggestion Marketing. The well written and cleverly aimed ads smoothly suggest to you : Having trouble sleeping ? Runny nose ? Is your arthritis acting up? Is gastric reflux keeping you away from the food you love? Don't let your asthma keep you from having fun. So you read about this and start thinking : Hmm, that's what I have , and bam the drug company just convinced you that your sick by planting the suggestion and made a sale. They are doing this in print, radio, and TV ads. In print they including the prescribing information in small print sometimes two or three pages worth. In radio and TV they rattle off the side effects at the end of the commercial so fast that if your not paying attention you don't capture it.

Whats The Idea ?

Do they want us to see the commercial and run to the doctor and have him prescribe that great new drug we just saw on TV? Yes that is exactly what they want! People come to me at the pharmacy and ask for the new miracle pill they saw last night on TV. When I tell them that its by prescription only, they get upset. People think that if its advertised on TV that they can just go and pick it up as if it was a loaf of bread.

It's time we take back control from the companies and show the doctors that your health is first, regardless of pharmaceutical company kickbacks. Here's a few things you can do :

Know your meds: Its a fact that most people don't know the names or strengths of their medications and most people don't know or understand about generic equivalents. Know what your taking and what its for.

Talk to your doctor: Ask your doctor about every one of your medications and if they are a therapeutic necessity. Lots of people take two or more pills for cholesterol and triglyceride levels and high blood pressure. There are new combination medicines on the market that join 2 drugs in one pill. Not only will you simplify your pill intake, you will also save money at the pharmacy.

Ask for lab work : Get regular blood work done, at least twice a year, every 4 months would be better. There is no way for a doctor to know that if what you are taking is working for you if he doesn't see your blood levels. Maybe you don't need to take that cholesterol pill anymore, or maybe you could use a lower maintenance dosage.

Ask questions: You should feel free to ask questions at every level of service, doctor, lab, pharmacy. The only way to stay in control of your health is being informed.

Be weary: Keep your eyes open for pre-made prescriptions. A lot of pharmaceutical companies will send out pre-made prescription pads to doctors. The doctor just dates and signs the prescription. No need to pick the drugs or even think about what you may need," I'll just sign this ready made one and next patient." A lot of doctors take the easy way out. Do you really want to to take something where the doctor just stamps his signature on the paper and sends you on your way? That's a reckless and lazy approach to medicine.

In closing : Remember that you should be able to trust your pharmacist as he always has your health in mind. We strive to keep our patients healthy by monitoring their drug intake and making suggestions along the way whenever we see something strange. It is never our job to second guess the prescribing physician, but you can always ask your pharmacist for an opinion on your current mix of pills by telling him how you feel. For example: that persistent dry hacking cough you have just maybe from your blood pressure medicine, its a common side effect. If you let us know how you feel, we can inform you so that you may then tell your doctor. The more you know about what you take and why you take them and what they cause you, the better your panorama will be for a long healthy life. Take a step up and take control make your health a team effort, YOU your pharmacist and your doctor.