Polypharmacy…one drug too many
An interesting twist on the problem of polypharmacy — that is, patients taking too many drugs — is outlined in this story (Profit drives drug misuse in Asia) about MD prescribing habits in Asia. In the North American context, usually the concern arises from patients shopping around for medications, or a lack of coordination of medical and pharmacy records, so that a patient ends up taking multiple drugs. But the problem can also arise when the financial incentives are such that MDs get paid for their prescriptions, as seems to be the case in some Asian countries; the end result is over-medication, adverse drug reactions, increased financial costs to patients and insurers, and even the growth in antibiotic resistance…
P.S. See this detailed analysis of the power of pharma / drug rep influence on MDs, by Chris MacDonald over at the Business Ethics Blog: Pharma Gift-Giving: Influence, Relationships, & Zero-Sum Games