dollars for docs

DOLLARS FOR DOCS
when i was in practice the last several years i quit seeing
drug representatives
because i realized that even though we were taught they were
a good source of information about drugs
and
if you were careful seeing them
they would not influence what
medications you prescribed for you patients

well they and i were wrong


once i stopped seeing reps and stopped having them come in
and doing free meals for everyone
its sometimes the nurses they are really after
i began to notice my prescribing habits changed

i also noticed those docs who continued to see reps and to
accept all those free samples
seemed to order more expensive brand meds instead of
a good equal generic medication

eg
for high blood pressure i usually started with lisinopril
which costs less than $5 a month
those unduly influenced would order something like
avapro or diovan that would cost $150 a month

many times i would assume the care of a new patient
and rearrange their meds and save them sometimes
$1000-$2000 a year in drug costs

well worth it to my patients for me to not see reps

i also noted that many times employees and even doctors
themselves would avail themselves of the samples

also what happens is the patient is given a sample of
a branded medicine
if it worked ok
then the rx would be written for the same med

but an old generic was available
it worked well and was a lot cheaper

so below there is a website that you can click on
type in your doctors name to see if anyone has received
any moneys from drug companies up to 2012
starting sometime in the 2000s

since i was in practice during that time
i typed in my name
$0

my wife shes doctors name
$0

the specialists ive seen in the last 3 years
oops one got $250 for food
must have been a good meal

then i typed in names of doctors that many of you are seeing
one in particular got close to $1000 for food

interesting so below
click this link to find out if your doctor is receiving money from drug companies

then take a good luck at your medications to see if any of this
affected the cost of your medications you are own

the organicgreen doctor

wart removal, deal dingy, generics, planking

WART REMOVAL
the american academy of family physicians journal this month
published an article on wart removal
no i didnt write it but
if you were one of my patients you will recognize the first line
recommendations

first treatement is dont
67% of warts will be gone in 2 years
cost zero

2nd line of treatment
73% of warts will be gone eventually after treatment
cost minimal
no office visit required

from article directions (sounds familiar)
obtain salicyclic wart treatment from pharmacy or store
soak the wart area in warm water for five minutes
file or rub down any rough areas with a pumice stone
or emory board
apply the salicyclic acid to the wart
cover with duct tape (my duct tape post for the week)
repeat daily until wart is gone
may take several weeks
dont use the salicylic acid on the face

3rd choice for those 27-33% that dont respond
50-70% effective
the over the counter freezing units may not work as well as
the office ones
if these are used the treatments need to be repeated probably
several times over several weeks or
go to the doctor and get it frozen
will probably take several visits

a few warts wont respond to this and will need
other treaments

cost office visits and procedure fees
some risk for scarring

DEAL DINGY
the dingy thing about the new debt ceiling deal was that it
brought together the right wing tea partiers and the left wing
democratics to oppose this deal
strange bed fellows huh

GENERICS
those of you who have suffered through the expense of having
to pay for lipitor ($165+ a month) and plavix ($201+ a month)
now will soon be able to get them as generics

wonder why viagra is not generic as it was produced first in the
mid 1990s
wont they be one that people are looking forward to it going generic
but when that happens there will not be any more of those
good commercials you get to watch with your kids and parents

PLANKING
the planking journey continues