Even though science and healthcare have made great strides, why r so many people dying from meds?

Question

Is there an alternative?

Answer 1

Excellent question.
I have never seen any stats that specify the number of deaths due to "therapeutic drugs".....To be sure, many more incure significant adverse effects that cause some degree of illness, short of dying. The F.D.A. recently released a number of 1500 deaths, this las year, just due to acetaminophen (Tylenol) over doses :Primarily liver failure due to the simultaneous use of multiple medications containing acetaminophen
The American Medical Association, in it's Medication Reviews, has for decades, indicated that the use of "combination medications "as "irrational."........Those that contain more than one medication. It would seem that someone didn't get the message in that combination meds are proliferating. One can imagine the added risk of taking 2 different medications, in many different srengths/concentrations, purely for the "convenience" of taking one pill rather thantwo.........These are very potent and conentrated chemicals.
At the rate that new medications are proliferating it challenges even a caring, skilled, and trained Provider to be thoroughly knowledgable of all of them. Each must consider how influential pharmaceutical representative are in convincing them to prescribe yet another in the face of thousands of pages of data and information to recall along with that relevant to a rest of a medical practice.
A barage of studies have attempted to evaluate the implications of medication orders and the extent that physicians medication orders are administered erroneousely.
Due to the number of signs, symbols, abbreviations, and notations, used for decades, that are easily misread , there is an effort in progress by regulatory agencies to eliminate the most confusing, if not all of these factors.
As well problematic, is the fact that most medication perscriptions and orders or rendered in handwriting: This can be highly illegible and prone to misinterprtation/ More and more hospitals are now changing over to a computerized record that illiminates or minimizes hand written documents.
The number one cause of medication errors remains human error.Due to the comlexities of each system the delivers medication to a consumer, the potential for error increases as the complexaty increases. Multiple studies have shown that a consumers outcomes are directly related to the staffing of adequate numbers of nurses. Some States, through the efforts of Nursing organizations and unions have mandated staffing ratios that would improve the individual attention that each consumer recieves. For a number of reasons, these have failed to materialize.
Because large numbers of consumers are relating that they are not fully understanding instructions and directions from their healthcare providers, the most immediate assurance to safe and effective health care relies on each consumer and their families asking many questions: insisting upon language and terms that they can fully understand and that reasonable time and opportunity be given to explanaions and teaching that is clear and understandable.
There seems to be a limited initiative within the Food and Drug Administration, indicating inadequacies that less than assure the safe and thourough review/control of the drug industry and how research and reviews are conducted. It can not be overemphasized that the F.D.A.'s funding comes directly fron the pharmaceutical manufactureres: Virtually, the fox guarding the hen house !
Some feel that we need a National health care system : Your question aptly indicates that we may need to fix the system first.
Of course, we are living longer, in part because of the medications and therapies available to an increasingly aged population.
We are using more medication and through advertizing we are encouraged to ask for( if not demand) a particular product of our provider.
Don't we all want a quick, convenient and expediant resolution to our health issues. Are we part of the problem ?
At present rates of escalation of health care costs( 6-10 %/year over the last ten years) One can wonder how much can be done, with respects to a safe system, when under pressure to do more for less.

Answer 2

Some alternatives have not been tested. Some meds haven't been tested enough. I was taking a pill for osteoarthritis. That raised my blood pressure, so my Dr put me on blood pressure meds. It's scary out there. The drug co's push the new stuff on the Drs because the patent is good for a number of years & they can't make generics until it runs out. Do your own research.

Answer 3

people overdose- or there are side effects that weren't predicted. science can't do everything.