I was trying to remember when prescription drugs were allowed to advertise on television (called “Direct To Consumer Advertising, or DTCA”). Fortunately, I didn’t have to bust my memory cells – I just had to “Google it.”
1995. The year all HHHHell broke loose. At least if you were a doctor.
Suddenly, patients could make their own diagnoses and prescriptions and just phone the order in to their doctor. At least, that’s how most patients thought it should work. And – hoo boy! – were they upset when it wasn’t quite that easy.
Comedian Dennis Miller has a hilarious line: “I divide medical practitioners into two camps. Those who will give me a scrip for Vicodin over the phone, and those who won’t.”
Hilarious if you aren’t a doctor, that is. Read more on RX Package Insert — Just Read It!…
Filed under Diagnosis, medicine, News, prescription drugs by on Dec 1st, 2011. Comment. 
He was 50 and he told me right up front, “I need more of the medications the other doctors give me. You can just renew them for me; that is why I am here.”
That’s probably the second most common thing a patient says to me. The most common is, “Why didn’t my other doctors tell me that?” No, I don’t just renew prescriptions, I explained to him. I told him that I need to get to know my patients, so that I can make sure that I give them the correct medications.
“I don’t want you to do that,” he said to me. “All the other doctors just give me renewals.” I told him I didn’t much care, that was not how I worked, and if he wanted renewals he would have to tell me how he was doing. Read more on Self-Medicating On Pot And Booze As A Life Plan…
Filed under Substance Abuse by on Sep 14th, 2010. Comment.