Michael Arnold Glueck, MD & Robert J Cihak, MD
"Hazardous to seniors' health." That could be the warning if unlimited prescription drug coverage under Medicare is passed into law. It's bad enough getting older without being medicated to death. But if seniors and doctors give in to the siren song of unlimited government-mandated "free drugs," the safety of all seniors could be seriously compromised.
President Bush has put forth a moderate proposal to cover prescriptions for the poorest seniors to give Congress time to consider ways to revamp Medicare to cover prescriptions for all seniors. But the ultimate result of other's proposals for unlimited prescription drug coverage could be a big negative for seniors.
Many patients, particularly seniors or semi-seniors, take a wide variety of medicine for heart disease, hypertension, elevated cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, arthritis, chronic lung disease, etc. Many also use non-prescription vitamin and dietary supplements. All medicines, even the best, have side effects, and some are pretty nasty!
The good or beneficial effects of medication are the ones that treat disease or symptoms. The side effects can make you sick or kill you. For the patient there is always a price to pay in the delicate balancing act of benefits versus risks.
Sometimes under the rush to care no one physician, pharmacist or even the patient knows all the medications being ingested, injected, applied by patch, liquid, ointment or creme. And if Medicare is extended to cover all prescriptions, the complications could be There's the rub!
A survey of 1,000 adults was conducted last fall for the American Society of Health System Pharmacists, which represents pharmacists who practice in hospitals and other health care institutions. As expected, more people tended to take more prescriptions as they grew older.
Seventy-nine percent of respondents over age 65 reported taking at least one prescription drug each day, vs. 28 percent for those 44 or younger.
The survey also found that about 8 percent of people entering a hospital don't report to doctors or nurses what medications they're taking.
Drugs, foods, emotions, exercise and just about everything else interact both positively and negatively with the body's natural defense mechanisms. Each of these elements may make a medicine less or more effective - which can lead to medical problems from not enough or too much drug activity.
For example a person on 2 medications will likely have fewer interactions than a patient on ten medications who will have the potential for millions (factorial 10) of drug interactions. Needless to say, no physician can completely understand all the interactions possible when multiple drugs are used.
Diseases interact as well; for example, high blood pressure can cause kidney failure. And kidney failure can increase high blood pressure. With seniors averaging more than a dozen prescriptions every year, innumerable possible complications and interactions are possible. No wonder grandma or grandpa might seem a little sleepy for weeks or months on end.
Indeed, Dr. James Fries estimates that "10% to 20% of hospitalizations for seniors are the result of drug side effects." By applying the timely tincture of simple sense there are ways to reduce the risks.
Here are some easy recommendations:
The good news is that Americans are living longer and better than ever before. By following these common sense rules the patient, family, physician, and pharmacist will benefit. Although most of us will ultimately require some type of medication, there is no reason to be medicated to sleep or death! Prevention is healthier than cure.
American Association of Physicians And Surgeons February 1, 2001
Michael Arnold Glueck, MD, Newport Beach, Calif., has written extensively on medical and legal reform issues. 1208 Somerset Lane Newport Beach, CA 92660 949.645.5183 E-Mail:72143.2077@compuserve.com
Robert J Cihak, MD of Aberdeen, Wash., is president of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. 547 Fairway Drive Aberdeen WA 98520 Phone: 360 533-5017 Cellular phone: 503 939-5470 FAX: 801 720-0701 E-Mail: RCihak@techline.com
AAPS has done quite a bit to preserve freedom in our health care choices. Many are not aware that they spearheaded the litigation efforts to defeat Hiliary Clinton's efforts to socialize medicine in this country.
This article by the current AAPS president, Dr. Cihak is an excellent reminder that what may seem superficially a good thing is actually a nightmare in disguise. This legislation will undoubtedly be passed, but it is a double whammy for decreasing, NOT increasing senior's health.
Doctors, and drugs in particular, are responsible for the majority of deaths in this country. Prescription errors kill over 100,000 people every year in the US.
Currently the traditional medical paradigm is acknowledged to be the third leading cause of death in the US. However when one factors in the lack of awareness of insulin management through diet, the first and second leading causes of death, heart disease and cancer, can be accounted for by physician ignorance of these principles.
Providing Medicare drug care coverage for seniors will only serve to worsen their health, NOT improve it. Drugs rarely ever address the foundational cause of the illness. However, one thing drugs do quite nicely is serve to increase the profits of the multi-national firms that produce them. These are the companies that have so generously supported political agendas to facilitate passage of these types of bills.
These companies are not stupid. They understand quite clearly that if this bill is passed it will mean huge profits for them. They will have legally achieved the ability to take your money (in the form of taxes) to pay for drugs that do not solve senior's health problems, and in most cases will accelerate their death.
Fortunately you do not have to participate in this process. Once you understand and see the truth you can freely chose to step out of their ball game. Unfortunately, most others will not choose to do this, so you will get stuck with the tax bill for supporting this nonsense.
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