Here is my recent inclusion into the RD, October edition. It was under "Three Health Trends That Make No Sense".
Take One and Pray in the Morning
There is a push by the managed-care industry to get doctors to change some of their prescriptions. They do this by convincing patients that if their doctors prescribed something else, it would be cheaper for them. It's certainly cheaper for the insurance company. But now I'm stuck explaining to a patient that baking soda is not the same as Nexium when treating their reflux/heartburn, or that a real antibiotic is more effective than scraping mold off an old piece of bread. Okay, I'm exaggerating. But I've seen requests that come close. Something tells me that the insurance company executives get whatever they are prescribed.
Douglas Farrago, MD, editor of Placebo Journal
There is a push by the managed-care industry to get doctors to change some of their prescriptions. They do this by convincing patients that if their doctors prescribed something else, it would be cheaper for them. It's certainly cheaper for the insurance company. But now I'm stuck explaining to a patient that baking soda is not the same as Nexium when treating their reflux/heartburn, or that a real antibiotic is more effective than scraping mold off an old piece of bread. Okay, I'm exaggerating. But I've seen requests that come close. Something tells me that the insurance company executives get whatever they are prescribed.
Douglas Farrago, MD, editor of Placebo Journal
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