A Pen, a Pad, and a Whole Lot of Medication

Doctor, I need Help!

In the past, when you had a headache, you’d pop a couple of aspirin and go about your business. These days, you make an appointment with your doctor, sharing how you “suffer” from “severe migraines." Then, since you’re already there, you share further about the other aches and pains that are tormenting you. After a quick once over and a few basic questions, you leave with a fistful of prescriptions. Sounds exaggerated, right? Sadly, it is more true than not.

Before I continue, I want to make something clear: I know there are people with legitimate medical conditions that, without proper medications, they cannot manage the pain or conditions of their illness. I’m not questioning them, or their problems. What I question, or rather who I question, are the others that will seek medication at the drop of a hat, or rather at the first boom of a cough. You know who you are.

We are a nation of hypochondriacs.

What happened to us? When did we become a nation so aversed of some minor discomforts, or the sniffles? When did we go from being patients to being customers? Going to see your doctor has now become the equivalent of going to your local Wal-Mart. It’s impersonal, it’s cold, you see things you wish you hadn’t, and you end up paying for things you don’t really want--even if you try to convince yourself you do.

I find it intriguing how our need for prescriptions has changed the way stores do business. Don’t believe me? How many of your local grocery stores also have a pharmacy in them? How many of them have a drive-thru option? Grocery stores have added pharmacies in order to cater to their customers, which prompted pharmacies to add groceries in order to stay competitive. Sure, we can look at it as simply a matter of convenience, but why would we need this kind of convenience if there wasn’t such a great need for it?

Greatness is defined by…?

Doctor-patient relationships seemed to mean much more, there seemed to be greater engagement, respect and trust. Now, and I am generalizing here, it feels like patients are objectified, someone to move through, bill, and move on. Which is only fair I guess, since patients look at their doctors like they are some kind of mystical wizard, able to wave a magic wand and instantly cure whatever ails them. It is 2014, after all, and that is how medicine is suppose to work… right? Right?

Before you go blaming the doctors for this problem, thinking they are some kind of money-sucking vampires, perhaps you should stop and take a look in the mirror. In essence, we are a part of the problem. We’ve essentially forced the medical field to evolve into the monster it is today. We are a nation that expects instant results, and as such, if a doctor does not meet our unrealistic expectations, we complain. We convince ourselves, and others, that only great doctors will quickly write those prescriptions.

If this is how we define what makes a great doctor, then is it any wonder why we have a problem with illegal use? Let’s assume a person was prescribed one of the stronger, addictive, drugs for a legitimate reason. Let’s further assume the person did, indeed, become addicted. That person is now more likely to say whatever they need to say in order to obtain more of the drug.

Now let’s say the doctor sees their patient has become addicted, and they want to help out. They prescribe an alternative, or they put a stop to it altogether. This person, this addict, will now have to find some other means, illegal means, to score their preferred drug. We now have a person who went from legitimately needing a prescribed narcotic, to a criminal who is seeking to get their next fix by any means possible. Extreme? Sure. Realistic? More than most of us probably care, or want, to admit. It would seem, that both patient and the medical establishment need to consider a more responsible behavioral commitment to wellness. There are not easy answers, but we will never arrive to those answers if we do not start asking the right questions.