Crap. That was even cheesier than the Kony 2012 video series.
This country might need an honest, intelligent look at how it handles prescriptions…it does NOT need some sensationalistic monkey-fuck of a video like this, which really only encourages idiocy and discourages intelligent conversations.
Just, right off the bat…the idea of doctors getting ‘kick backs’ for prescribing drugs from a particular company. I hope the folks here realize that even the highest-volume General Practitioner that you could ever imagine will not prescribe enough of ANY drug over the course of a year, or over the course of a career, to get enough kick-back money that would be worth the risk of such unprofessional behavior. Just do the math on the most they could receive from a kick back – it makes no logical sense, at least not for 99% of doctors.
For a moment also consider the logistics in tracking every prescription written by every doctor (written by hand, on a pad, and not placed in a centralized computer network of any kind) – and the logistics of tracking where the patient had said prescription filled, what the margin for profit was based on the pharmacy AND the insurance company’s deal with the medical company, and everything else in between…the variables are vast all to arrange a kick-back network which in all this time has still oddly never actually been discovered, only speculated upon.
Frankly, these accusations are on the same level as the ‘Beware the Illuminati’ videos you see on the weird corner of YouTube. Infinite speculation, enormous leaps in logic, and plenty of folks ready to call you an idiot for doubting them.
It might also be worth noting that I’ve known many, many doctors in many parts of the country. I’ve never met one who ever received a check from a drug company – and incidentally, yeah, I have asked.
Oh, yes, plenty of free samples, free dinners, maybe once in a while a rather cool bit of swag – but ultimately, it’s all advertising material, not ‘bribes,’ and it sure as hell isn’t anything worth risking a professional reputation over. Sure, advertising can sway a doctor towards one medication over another, and sometimes those judgements can be wrong, but it’s nothing like what’s being implied in this bit of propaganda.
Is there a problem with how the drug companies, patients, and doctors are all propping up an over-dependence on medications of sometimes questionable value?
Hell yes.
Is this video a ridiculous bit of implication designed to appeal to knee-jerk types who don’t want to be bothered with actual content and information?
It is possible.
