Needing an honest answer

Nurses General Nursing

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As nurses why do you guys think that medications only treat the symptoms of a disease instead of curing the disease? Is it because no one has come up any cures yet? (:rolleyes:) Or do you guys think it's a conspiracy?

I for one think it's a conspiracy and that's what I'm writing a paper on. Just wanted to know how you all felt. Thanks.

Side note: OMG just noticed I put "and" instead of "an" in my title. Disregard Please!

Specializes in Health Information Management.
True. They can't give away a pen but every day a different rep brings $100 worth of Olive Garden or Chili's in to feed the whole office and chat up the provider's for 45 minutes or so. Yeah.......

Amended by TDCHIM to read: "...every day a different [gorgeous, young, and dressed to the nines] rep brings $100 worth of Oliver Garden or Chili's in to feed the whole office [while bantering ingratiatingly with office staff about relationships or their kids] and chat up [or often flirting/attempting to flirt with] the providers for 45 minutes or so....."

This drives me crazy. I suppose it's nice for the staff and providers, but just thinking about how much money is spent on this sort of thing by even one pharmaceutical company each year makes me feel like taking a dozen hot showers.

There's no one big conspiracy involved - just a lot of human fallibility....

Specializes in Oncology.
:twocents: It's probably also worth mentioning that the healthcare industry has painted itself (and society) into what I call a "corner of stupidity" with "cancer."

How many types of cancer are there? If someone actually discovered a cure for say, prostate cancer, that would hardly benefit someone suffering from basal cell carcinoma or multiple myeloma. Granted, understanding how a particular cancer works enough to develop an actual cure might help in the research of other cancers... But the point is that you can't say "cancer is cancer is cancer." Each one is a different disease with different causes.

So I guess big, bad Pharmatronix is keeping even MORE cures from us!

[i'm joking about "Pharmatronix"...which I assume is not actually the name of a real company!]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shana tova!

That's true to a degree, and probably even largely true, however, many treatments used in one form of cancer are now being found to benefit other forms. The first thing that comes to mind is IL-2 therapy, which is used in renal cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Specializes in Oncology.
True. They can't give away a pen but every day a different rep brings $100 worth of Olive Garden or Chili's in to feed the whole office and chat up the provider's for 45 minutes or so. Yeah.......

That's largely illegal as well.

Specializes in Oncology.
What do you mean by "the payment is much more favorable towards meds"? The person I was responding to said that she had ulcerative colitis, and mentioned she preferred treatment in Germany because they send people to spas and teach stress management techniques to compare and contrast to the American system, where I am assuming she believes, doctors take out the prescription pad first and only- which is not true. It's the patients- they'd rather take a pill than stop eating their Philly Cheese-steak with double curly fries. Maybe they write for meds too soon because they are battle-scarred by so many patients who believe if they don't leave with a prescription their visit was a complete waste of time.

I think she was referring to how primary care doctors essentially get 15 minutes to spend with a patient. It's a lot more gratifying to use those 15 minutes to give someone a prescription that will help immediately than to spend it counseling on lifestyle changes that will help down the road. Granted, most insurance covers psychology or nutrition consults, I would think.

Specializes in Health Information Management.
That's largely illegal as well.

Perhaps so, but I've witnessed such things happen multiple times this year alone....

Reps never come at night. :(

I always miss the feast.

Specializes in Oncology.
Perhaps so, but I've witnessed such things happen multiple times this year alone....

I think it might be a state law here

Specializes in Oncology/Haemetology/HIV.
That's true to a degree, and probably even largely true, however, many treatments used in one form of cancer are now being found to benefit other forms. The first thing that comes to mind is IL-2 therapy, which is used in renal cell carcinoma and melanoma.

Much like targetted therapies like tumor necrosing factors/monoclonal antibodies, and therapie like antivirals.

Prior to the AIDs scare, there were few antivirals. Now our antiviral therapy has been substantially advanced and the technology spawned help for many other diseases.

Targetted therapies (I still tend to call them "mouse medicine"), the technology behind them has gone to help with other autoimmune based disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, etc.

Specializes in Peds/outpatient FP,derm,allergy/private duty.
True. They can't give away a pen but every day a different rep brings $100 worth of Olive Garden or Chili's in to feed the whole office and chat up the provider's for 45 minutes or so. Yeah.......

I haven't worked in an area populated by the species in a while, so I've missed the free food epoch. :bluecry1: I think those rules are kind of like campaign finance laws. Those with high stakes in the game will find a way around anything. The food strategy is pretty brilliant though, because it assures they will be hanging out for 45 minutes as opposed to 10, and they don't have to weedle and cajole for their face time with the doctor.

I think she was referring to how primary care doctors essentially get 15 minutes to spend with a patient. It's a lot more gratifying to use those 15 minutes to give someone a prescription that will help immediately than to spend it counseling on lifestyle changes that will help down the road. Granted, most insurance covers psychology or nutrition consults, I would think.

I think she may have meant that since prescription drugs have to have gone through successful studies prior to becoming available, doctors know they will work, whereas if you talk to the patient about lifestyle changes, you aren't sure if they will. I'm looking at it from the point of view of a primary care doc who sees stuff like chronic COPD, osteoarthritis, diabetes, hypertension etc. and non rx lifestyle changes don't need studies to know if they'll work.

With lots of dx a prescription is the appropriate treatment to start with, like getting a patient with depression on an anti-depressant right away! I lost a dear friend I believe because that wasn't done- I miss her every day and wonder if things would've turned out differently if her doctor had intervened more aggressively with the pharmaceuticals.

Most of the family docs I've worked with do both at the same time. They prescribe for the joint pain and tell the patient their knees wouldn't hurt so much if they lost 50 lbs. The patient comes back, the doc says "how's that diet and exercise program working out for you?" even though he knows the patient gained 3 pounds. Some doctors are lazy and don't bother at all with the pep talk. A few actually discharge the pt from their care if they are non-compliant over a long period of time.

Specializes in Health Information Management.
I think it might be a state law here

I wish it were here! Cajoling docs and staff members to look favorably on certain medications by plying them with food seems like a form of bribery to me.

So, several days later - where is the paper the OP promised she would post... ?

Specializes in PACU, OR.
So, several days later - where is the paper the OP promised she would post... ?

Probably unsubscribed from the thread. I doubt whether she's read anything for the past week...

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