What is the Point of Prescription Drug Commercials?

I'll tell you what the point is. For Drug companies to use Joe Blow common guy to bully Doctors into selling their product. Why else advertise to someone who can't write prescriptions? For years it was 'un-professional' to advertise medications you couldn't buy over the counter. The Doctor was left up to his own judgement to decide what was best to prescribe for his patient. Now, the patient gets to decide? Right now, it's mostly erectile dysfunction and allergy meds but what's next? Antibiotics? Hell, Parents bullying doctors now is why every child with a sniffle has to have antibiotics. Why we're developing super bacteria that no drugs can harm.

Trust me, I'm no fan of Doctors, but when I get patients telling me what the doctor should have prescribed for them b/c they told them that's what they needed, I feel for em. Yes, I'm a pharmacist and I have an opinion. So, so-long professionalism and hello coporate America.

And another thing, you wanna drop the price of Rx drugs? Don't go to Canada. Their drugs are crap. Really. Talk to your congressman about those drug companies. Three things those drug guys could cut out to save you a bundle.

1. Free stuff for Doctors Pharmacists and Students. I have more pens, stress toys, and laser pointers than I can shake a ...well, a laser pointer at. These companies spend millions on food, freebies, and entertainment costs for physicians and other health professionals every year trying to bribe their way to profit. Hell, getting rid of drug reps alone would cut a ton of costs.

2. Cut out commercials. Leave the decision making of prescribing up to the guys who spent 8-12 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars to learn how.

3. Bull**** patents. The average patent on a new drug lasts about 7 years beginning when trials begin. Often times this means that by the time a drug reaches the market (consumer) it only has a couple of years to turn a profit before it can go generic. Now I understand having to get your money back on your investment, but don't stick and extra methyl group on the chemical structure, give it a new name and a purple shell, and call it a new drug. If you guys havent noticed, Prevacid and Nexium are pretty much the same freaking drug.

I could go on and on but it won't help. You people are all too lazy to contact your congressman and this will continue until Garth Brooks takes over the world. But thats another day.

Reason #19 Garth Brooks could be the Third Anti-christ: Friends in low places isn't about what you thought.

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