Dollars for Docs

I apologize for this post being a little bit long but I want to share it with you guys and girls my personal experience and share some information that a lot of doctors have kept hidden from their patients. The information that I discovered may help some of you to understand why many may be leaving the doctor's office with prescriptions for medications they don't need.

I'll start by telling you that, last Spring, I got into a very heated argument with my family physician over him prescribing Lipitor "to prevent me from getting high cholesterol." How lame is that?! I had just had extensive lab work done because it was for my annual physical and my cholesterol level was 92 which was normal. I asked him why I should take a medication that can damage my liver and kidneys and cause horrible muscle and joint pains when he couldn't give me a legitimate reason for doing it.

I had the physical because I was getting ready to move away from TN to my house in AL and wanted to make sure that everything was okay with my health. He had access to my Medco Mail Order Pharmacy insurance information and ordered a 90 day supply of Lipitor which cost my insurance company and me $468. I was more than a little bit upset when I received the unexpected order in the mail and it couldn't be returned.

There was something about that incident that kept bothering me and I discussed it with my husband. We decided that there must have been some kind of financial incentive between this doctor and the pharmaceutical companies for him to have forced the prescription upon me but we had no proof. It's no wonder that insurance companies are limiting benefits.

My cousin and his wife are doctors here and I went to him and discussed the incident. He did another lab test and told me to discard the Lipitor because I didn't need it. Today there is an article in the newspaper and it provided this address for patients to check up on their doctors and hospitals to see if their names are on the list receiving money from the pharmaceutical companies. If you are interested in looking up the information on doctors and hospitals in your area, here is the address:

[url]http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/[/url]

I have known this for years after dating a nurse for a few years but have not heard of such a blatant incident. That's crazy and I could see myself changing physicians because he is more interested in that trip to Tahiti for pushing the certain drug than he/she is in the health of the patient.
They pharm companies seem alot like these political special interests groups who push their agenda by greasing the palms of the folks who can give them what they want.

The healthcare industry is ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS!!!!!

That is why it takes a nurse to do the triage, a nurse to tell you the ER doctor will be in, the ER doctor comes in to see you, then a second ER doctor comes in to "concur" what the first doctor said. Then one person takes the X ray or CT scan but another person has to read the x ray or scan ......... I am a patient of Blue Surgery at UK Hospital. Trust me when I say I have been there enough to know, had enough surgeries to know that EVERY Blue Surgeon on duty knows me and my case. UK hospital and ER knows me and my case. It is documented in their computer system that Stevie Wonder can read well enough to know my case but I still have to see 2 ER doctor's before they will call Blue Surgery to tell them I am there. I will get billed for both Doctor's, who did nothing but make a phone call because Blue is in charge of my care not the ER. All about the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. As far as Family Physicians go, why do you think you sign in with Ink Pens that have Drug Names on them???? Grant it, they are GREAT QUALITY ink pens but the Drug Companies are not giving them to the Doctor's just because. Why do you think some Physicians have "Samples" of certain drugs? Somebody of some Pharmaceutical company has brought these samples to the doctor, why - for future prescriptions to be written. All about the BENJAMINS

I'm one of those souls who eat a pound of pills for breakfast. Change of life style? I was a 3 shift worker almost all my life. Try it and then plan a healthy regimine.It was my choice, the pay was good,good enough that my wife stayed home and raised our children, sent them to parocial schools, and aided some what to their college educations.But what many consider a normal life, it wasn't!It lead to health issues, to both of us.Had heart attack, and the drugs started, statins, blood pressure, artritis, thyroid. Alcohol, stress,smoking, poor diet, I was guilty.Then more health issues.If it weren't for some of the meds, I'd have been gone.But there are chronic medical problems out there for some folks, that not are NOT cureableand the medication is very expensive,and some of it needs to be paid with public funds. So what do we do?Stop spending for a cure?How about the folks who almost live on pain meds? my brother takes enough oxycontin to kill most people, its that or take his own life, it was an accident that killed him three times. But he's alive, and wants to stay that way.why? who knows.So do we cut off his meds? Contrary to popular belief, at some time before we die, we will become drug dependent for some reason or other.