LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HERE IS THE NEXT PRESIDENT

[somenewromantic]

I read an article in The New York Times yesterday that really amused me--or rather, the title amused me--it was an article about pharmaceutical company lobbyist and the huge influence they have on Capitol Hill now, and, ultimately, the drug/prescription as it relates to Medicare and Medicaid passed into law. (The article was called, "This is the Hill. This is the Hill on drugs.")

In a nutshell, it was about how, as long as Americans allow this lobbying to go on--and letting pharmaceutical drug reps, lawmakers and businessmen dictate what is best for patients, we're going to have healthcare problems. Pharmaceutical companies in particular--drug reps aren't doctors, they are salesmen, they just take the information given to them by the people who develop the drugs and sell the drug's good points to doctors. The result is, we've got doctors (who don't know everything, despite what they think) who prescribe drugs that they really don't have any experience with. The largest area this is a problem in is the rampant prescribing of psychotropic medications--we have general practitioners and docs other than psychiatrists prescribing these meds, after spending the average seven minutes with a patient, and that's not long enough to determine if you need Prozac, folks. The results are sometimes disastrous. For that matter, just listen to the drug commercials that are out here lately. Sometimes the disease or condition the drug is treating sounds more desirable than the side effects of the medicine designed to treat it.

I'm not wild about Hillary winning the presidency. (Okay, that was putting it mildly. I can't stand her. Someone posted earlier that this country isn't ready for a woman president.......and I agree. The sad truth is, this country isn't ready for a woman president because of women like Hillary, in my opinion.)

I am conservative (albeit moderate), but I'm not real impressed with the names that are starting to show up on the Republican ticket. Rudy Giuliani, it would seem, would be elected president simply for his handling of his city on 9/11, and while it was very admirable, that does not a president make.

After the Iraq debacle, and with what the Bush Administration calls the new 'Axis of Evil', I think what America and the world needs would be a president who has more than a passing knowledge and experience with foreign policy--always a matter near and dear to me.

I'm looking really hard at Bill Richardson myself. There are a couple of concerns I might have with his candidacy, but I won't go into them here.

[Carina]

somenewromantic said:

Pharmaceutical companies in particular--drug reps aren't doctors, they are salesmen, they just take the information given to them by the people who develop the drugs and sell the drug's good points to doctors. The result is, we've got doctors (who don't know everything, despite what they think) who prescribe drugs that they really don't have any experience with.

The sheer number of drugs available is mind-boggling. My MIL's primary doc is constantly referring to this two-inch encyclopedia of drugs published for doctors' use. So, when the pharm reps come in and describe the drug's uses, that particular drug sticks out in the doctor's mind, and that's what gets prescribed.

Then, there's the consumer advertising. There's a new vaccine available for HPV for women, and the advertising is subtly directed at parents of girls and young women. Who *doesn't* want to protect their daughter from cervical cancer, so it shouldn't be surprising when a parent sets up an appt. for a daughter and specifically asks for that vaccine.

[La Princess]

Has anyone been without insurance for years? I have. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. I have numerous medical conditions that could have been taken care of years ago. I had to wait until I got insurance. I was employed when I was uninsured. I couldn't afford insurance with my meager paycheck. People looked at me like I was trash because I didn't have insurance. Even though I paid by cash. There are people like me in this country. I checked into getting some sort of medical assistance. I wasn't qualified because I was making too much and didn't have kids. The making too much money was a joke. To deny people insurance is pretty cruel. Now I have insurance. I hope that I'll never have to be without again. More and more employers aren't offering insurance. That scares me. Prevention care helps with later problems.

[La Princess]

I don't think Hillary stands a chance. This country is still a racist and sexist country. Too many chauvinistic men. I personally know Democratic men who'd never vote for a woman. Not to mention that many people just don't like her. I'd vote for her though. I'd love nothing better than to see a woman as president. Iami, you mentioned you are from Maine. What do you think of your senator Olympia Snowe? I think a moderate pro choice Republican like her is a possibility. More so than Hillary. I still think a woman would have a hard time being electing.

[iami]

@la Princess... I'm very supportive of Olympia and she's extremely popular here in Maine in spite of the fact that she's a Republican in a blue state. I think what I like most about her is that she approaches both state and national issues in a calm, intelligent manner and she's extremely competent when it comes to suggesting compromises that are acceptable to all sides. Also, I agree with her on most issues, probably at least 80-85 percent.

Our other senator is also a Republican and a women... Susan Collins. She tends to be a bit more liberal than Snowe, although again, she's thoughtful and bright. Of the two, I prefer Olympia, although they both always get my vote.

A few years back, there was a bit of a grass roots movement to get Snowe to run for prez. This could surface again, although I doubt it would for 2008 as the field is so full now. Her senate term is up in 2012 though, which makes for some interesting possibilities.

Thanks for asking about her. I wish more people were aware of her.

iami

[La Princess]

iami said:

@la Princess... I'm very supportive of Olympia and she's extremely popular here in Maine in spite of the fact that she's a Republican in a blue state. I think what I like most about her is that she approaches both state and national issues in a calm, intelligent manner and she's extremely competent when it comes to suggesting compromises that are acceptable to all sides. Also, I agree with her on most issues, probably at least 80-85 percent.

Our other senator is also a Republican and a women... Susan Collins. She tends to be a bit more liberal than Snowe, although again, she's thoughtful and bright. Of the two, I prefer Olympia, although they both always get my vote.

A few years back, there was a bit of a grass roots movement to get Snowe to run for prez. This could surface again, although I doubt it would for 2008 as the field is so full now. Her senate term is up in 2012 though, which makes for some interesting possibilities.

Thanks for asking about her. I wish more people were aware of her.

iami

I've always been curious about her. She seems pretty decent. I have heard Susan Collins is pretty decent too. I try to check out all the politicians and base my opinions on what they do. Not what party. If a politican like Snowe would run, she'd pick up a lot of Democratic women.

[xrayspex]

Mediavixen - I think wait times in Ontario and Western Canada are not too bad these days. Unfortunately here in Quebec and I think in parts of Eastern Canada it is still a big problem. The government is working on it, but for certain things, particularly orthopedics, wait times are still months or even a year for a lot of elective procedures.

[somenewromantic]

carina said:

somenewromantic said:

Pharmaceutical companies in particular--drug reps aren't doctors, they are salesmen, they just take the information given to them by the people who develop the drugs and sell the drug's good points to doctors. The result is, we've got doctors (who don't know everything, despite what they think) who prescribe drugs that they really don't have any experience with.

The sheer number of drugs available is mind-boggling. My MIL's primary doc is constantly referring to this two-inch encyclopedia of drugs published for doctors' use. So, when the pharm reps come in and describe the drug's uses, that particular drug sticks out in the doctor's mind, and that's what gets prescribed.

Then, there's the consumer advertising. There's a new vaccine available for HPV for women, and the advertising is subtly directed at parents of girls and young women. Who *doesn't* want to protect their daughter from cervical cancer, so it shouldn't be surprising when a parent sets up an appt. for a daughter and specifically asks for that vaccine.

I want to tread VERY carefully here.

The commercials advertising the vaccine for cervical cancer (and you're right, they do target mothers taking their young daughters in for the vaccine, and there's a reason for that.....but it's not PC to talk about it).

It's true that HPV causes 70% of cervical cancer. HPV is a sexually transmitted disease--one of the most common ones. And my own sister, who worked in an OB/GYN doctor's office, has admitted that they tell patients that this will drastically lower their chances of getting cervical cancer (if it's caused by HPV)--but not that having safe sex will lower your chance of it, too.

In other words, it's not PC to tell people (and certainly not in a TV ad) that this shot COULD be completely unnecessary--why, that might put a damper on someone's fun.

AND--that this vaccine is not given to women after their 27th or 28th birthday. Why? Because, statistically, women over this age are practicing safer sex or are in monogamous relationships. We talked about this in my Microbiology class, and my prof, an MD, was extremely uneasy to talk about this--like it would be so wrong to tell us that MOST of the time (I mean, raincoats DO tear)--but mere protection would suffice.

I know exactly what you mean about the drug that the rep brought in that morning sticking out in the doctor's head to prescribe to patients when that patient pops in with the ailment that the drug rep brought the magic little pill for.

The reason I mentioned psychotropic drugs is this: Listen to any commercial for an antidepressant medication that comes on TV during primetime every single night of the week. The side effects of 'thoughts of suicide'? Obviously the commercials wouldn't say that if someone hadn't done it, and this is the sad truth about prescription of antidepressant meds:

A doctor does spend an average of seven minutes with a patient. Patient comes in, complains of what the doctor thinks is depression (which, by the way, drugs shouldn't be prescribed unless it is moderate to severe).

But sometimes a doctor, having no experience with the drugs, and NOT TAKING THE TIME TO ASK THE PATIENT IF SOMETHING RESEMBLING A MANIC EPISODE HAS OCCURED will prescribe the say, Cymbalta, that the drug rep brought in that morning. If the patient is experiencing something other than depression (such as bipolar disorder or schizoaffective disorder), this could set off a psychotic break that could result in hospitalization, suicide, and worse. And patients in a depressive episode of bipolar disorder are indistinguishable from your garden-variety depressed patient. (I was horrified and amazed at this particular lecture in Abnormal Psychology class.)

Drug rep lobbyists should be shot.

[iami]

well said somenewromantic, and good info to boot.

iami

[murderess]

Disingenuous is a great word to describe how I feel about Hillary.
Like Joey said this thread is a really great read. So glad to see a thread where people are maturely discussing political issues and making very valid points on both sides. I feel more informed from reading it.

I agree that the healthcare system in the US needs some major work. I also agree that the US probably has the best care available but it is very expensive.
My mother and I were just discussing this today. She has a friend who is separated from her husband, she is now raising two kids on her own. She is in school to get a good paying job and also works full time and her insurance won't cover a preventative check up so it would end up costing her $3000. She can't afford it so it won't get done. Not good.
I pay my own insurance premiums for a little bit of coverage. I have a high deductible and still pay quite a bit out of pocket but it's more for a major illness or accident. Better then nothing but it's getting more and more expensive every year for less and less coverage. I also have to many pre-existing problems to even think about finding a better policy with a different company, I'm just going to pay more for higher coverage because all of this preventative care is getting costly.

Ironically I just read somenewromantics posts about the HPV vaccine and the commercial just came on the t.v. Your post made sense, well said.