… discover what we already know; but it’s important to get this confirmation. Makers of anti-psychotic drugs (scroll down for all posts) target Medicaid psychiatrists in DC.
Medicaid psychiatrists …received a disproportionate, share of industry largesse, receiving two-thirds (66%) of gifts and payments. In 2008 (the most recent data available), antipsychotic use by Medicaid recipients was especially high in the nation’s capitol, with approximately 1 in 10 recipients receiving a prescription — a rate five times higher than the total national population.
A large proportion of Medicaid recipients are children under the age of 18. Antipsychotics can cause sedation, weight gain, diabetes, and other adverse effects.
It’s an absolutely perfect storm from the manufacturer’s point of view. A large vulnerable population. Doctors who may not be among the most highly trained.
“Antipsychotics are clearly being used in patients who are not psychotic,” said Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD.
September 28th, 2012 at 9:09AM
T.Szasz, was wrong about many things but his warnings about the unholy marriage of psychiatry and state powers (police, juridical, educational) are proving prophetic and dire, and when amped up by crony capitalism all bets are off…
September 28th, 2012 at 10:33AM
I’ve written smalltime stuff critical of Big Medicine’s Iron Pyramid–the AMA, the AHA, AHIP, Big Pharma, and medical equipment makers. You need a hide like an elephant. Even well-educated folks will angrily reject facts that are readily available by direct observation or straightforward inference. Hat’s off to you, UD.
dmf, you’re right. In Ohio, the General Assembly is OSMA’s punk prison bitch. You may want to try Ivan Illich’s mostly forgotten “Medical Nemesis”.
October 1st, 2012 at 6:30AM
“Money resolves all ethical dilemmas.” That’s from a letter written years ago to The New York Times by a manager responding to an article on business ethics. (Hope my memory’s okay on that.)
“Dictatorships fear free speech because they believe too many people will care. America has the First Amendment because nobody gives a damn.” That’s what an old-timer told me when I was a young business guy.
Hippocrates nailed the down side of medicine 2500 years ago. The Oath and the Canon are mostly about resisting the temptations intrinsic to the “asymmetric” doctor-patient transaction. Anaesthesia, sulfa, and penicillin helped transform the local sawbones into an upmarket guy. But, Big Money–e. g. Medicare under its original payment formula, Rorem-Kimball group health insurance once the cash patient was finessed from practice–gave Big Medicine a free hand to cook up cures for ailments that hardly exist. (Shannon Brownlee’s a good source.) UD, thanks for allowing this vent.
October 1st, 2012 at 7:11AM
My pleasure, Jack/OH.
October 2nd, 2012 at 6:02PM
Thank you, UD, for doing some big-time heavy lifting.