WM pharma-industry advertising vs doctors

[Guest guest]

At 11:30 AM 7/4/04 - Zev wrote:

....

>What worries me most about WM these days, especially in the U.S., is

>the advertising of powerful pharmaceutical drugs to the public on

>television and in the media, suggesting that consumers ask their

>doctors for these drugs. A major ethical divide has been opened here,

>one which I understand from my British friends here in San Diego has

>not been breached in Europe at this time.

 

I've noticed this trend accelerating recently, with ever more subtly

persuasive/alluring ads, and, in a recent Smithsonian Magazine, tear-out

cards to mail in to the pharma company with a patient profile, so they can

send direct mail info, and refer to a local MD to get you a prescription.

 

Also a recently reported statement by a high-ranking official in the

pharmaceutical industrial association, to the effect that they intend to

take over case-management, from the MDs. (This may be partially

interpretation on my part.)

 

The curious thing is, according to Unschuld (in one of his most recent

books -- " Was ist Medizin? " (unfortunately, only available so far in German

(I've emailed him asking if it is forthcoming in English -- if not, I'm

tempted to translate it myself))), the historical phenomena of the " 4 great

masters/school " of the Song-Jin-Yuan can be interpreted as a similar

scenario. Unschuld notes that standardization of herbal business by the

Imperial School resulted in medical practice gravitating to the pharmacies,

delegating the doctors into a subservient position as employees, to take

pulse, Sx, and write the prescription. He posits that the emergence of the

reductionist schools of diagnosis (BuYinPai, BuTuPai, GongXiaPai, etc.)

represents efforts by the medical profession to win back patients/customers

by offering diagnostic models to better help them.

 

Le plus change, le plus meme! (French: the more things change, the more

they're the same!)

 

Whereas Zev's emphasis on historical intellectual honesty is well put (and

I heartily agree with it), truth of the matter is that American society

(i.e. many if not most acupuncturists and their patients) is deeply both

anti-intellectual and anti-historical. This can be seen even in the medical

(WM) profession.

[Guest guest]

Hi Chris,

 

I posted a message sometime back, discussing the influence of the

pharmceutical compaines on front line medicine. This is being setup

in the UK right now for the terminal ill patients. Only time will

tell when it spreads to all of medicine. What is the future for MDs

i wonder?

 

Attilio

 

<@w...> wrote:

> At 11:30 AM 7/4/04 - Zev wrote:

Also a recently reported statement by a high-ranking official in the

pharmaceutical industrial association, to the effect that they

intend to take over case-management, from the MDs. (This may be

partially interpretation on my part.)

[Guest guest]

Hi Chris,

 

I quote your clear and brilliant observation (paraphrase from Unschuld's Was ist

Medezin). It correlates to the present moment in the U.S.

 

wrote:

Unschuld notes that standardization of herbal business by the Imperial School

resulted in medical practice gravitating to the pharmacies, delegating the

doctors into a subservient position as employees, to take pulse, Sx, and write

the prescription. He posits that the emergence of the reductionist schools of

diagnosis (BuYinPai, BuTuPai, GongXiaPai, etc.) represents efforts by the

medical profession to win back patients/customers by offering diagnostic models

to better help them.

 

Emmanuel: My cohort of MD friends started complaining loudly to me when they

reported that they had to start " paying " to see their patients in 1998 at the

local hospital ... which ceased to be a hospital and became the insurance

company healthcare facility. If you were a " lucky winner " with an MD after your

name, you could now purchase time at their facility to see the patients that

have listed you as their primary healthcare provider. My friends also started

asking me about various natural health products and Chinese herbal formulas that

I thought might be useful to them in their practice. So it's clear to me that

we are in our own historical moment in the U.S. when MDs are merely the

" employees " of the healthcare industry. This could actually be one of the best

times to be a CM practitioner.

 

Respectfully,

Emmanuel Segmen