301–310 of 329 posts
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I am new here in US, and I was shocked to see ads for sleeping pills on kids channels (Cartoon Network, iirc). Unbelievable.
Was it at night? Last time I checked (years ago), Cartoon Network is not a kids channel at night.
Even though many commenters here write about how creepy these ads are, I don’t think many people realize how weird this looks to the rest of the world. The US and New Zealand are the only two western nations which even allow them to exist. As I am not residing in the US myself, the only experience I have of this phenomenon is in parody form: Progenitorivox! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYodDH4qZQo (I may or may no…
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> This has positives, as consumers can be more active participants in their health, but can also lead to people shopping for doctors who will prescribe the drugs that they want based on flimsy research and marketing. Turns out, people suck at being intelligent healthcare consumers. Its not their fault though. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/02/upshot/why-consumers-often... http://www.nber.org/papers/w21160 Disclaimer:…
Have you ever lived in a country with single-payer healthcare? Let me tell you it's not all roses. - Months long waits for anything requiring a specialist unless you're literally about to die. - Arbitrary exclusions like dental and optical. - Doctors taking in ~50% of the entire provincial budget and whining that it's not enough. And at a typical tech worker salary this all this ends up being more expensive in additi…
There's the whole "I am not poor but I have compassion for those who are and don't want them to die and suffer for lack of medical care" angle that you might want to consider.
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Disturbingly easy to get class II drugs without any proof of need.
I have no direct experience seeking a prescription, but I do know a doctor who has repeatedly complained to me about patients coming to him with the expectation of receiving a particular drug. He's considered giving up his DEA license to reduce this problem.
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> they blatantly can't afford advertised at them relentlessly. That's not true, because most people do have insurance. The major problem is that the costs are socialized by insurance, so people buy excessive healthcare because then can afford it (they aren't paying).
There are countries where few people have insurance. Health outcomes are poor. There are other countries where everybody has insurance and the government negotiates medical prices. Japan, Germany, and France are three examples. They have much lower costs than the U.S. and the best health outcomes in the world, measured on criteria like death rates after diagnosis of major disease. Source: Healing America by T.R. Reid…
I've never understood the logic behind prescription drug ads. The first rule of sales is to pitch the decision maker. You can't buy prescription drugs without a doctor's authorization, so basically the ads are asking people to go beg their doctors for medicine they may, or may not, need. The doctor, in turn, may give in to the patient's emotional pleas, since they are, in effect, in a customer service business. This…
Found your problem right here. The news no longer serves to inform. It's little more than a conduit for fear, terror, and doubt. Switch off the TV and go read some websites or books to find out what's happening in the world other than the latest development in a terrifying incident in which a handful of people out of nine billion died.
Better yet, take your daughter down to city hall or a county government meeting, and get involved with what is actually going to affect you tomorrow.
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There are countries where few people have insurance. Health outcomes are poor. There are other countries where everybody has insurance and the government negotiates medical prices. Japan, Germany, and France are three examples. They have much lower costs than the U.S. and the best health outcomes in the world, measured on criteria like death rates after diagnosis of major disease. Source: Healing America by T.R. Reid…
Something else those countries have (to varying extent) is strong public transportation and an ancient and coherent food culture, which has helped them resist the epidemic of obesity and diabetes we are suffering in the US. Does your book address this?
And Japan, for example, has an aging population of heavy smokers.
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That's a great approach. However ... when I was unemployed, I was very happy that my doctor had free samples from her rep of $DRUG_THAT_KEEPS_ME_ALIVE. Our pediatrician also had free samples for some of the things our kid needed.
> However ... when I was unemployed, I was very happy that my doctor had free samples from her rep of $DRUG_THAT_KEEPS_ME_ALIVE. Our pediatrician also had free samples for some of the things our kid needed. Just remember, public health care is communist! Better dead than red.
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Demonstrating that consumers have trouble with insurance decisions implies nothing about their ability to make care decisions.
Most healthcare consumers don't shop around by cost for their healthcare, either because they can't (emergency services) or because its too damn hard (example below). I encourage you to call your three closest hospitals, pick three surgical procedures, and ask them what the cash rate is from their chargemaster. You may get an answer from one hospital, possibly.
As far as the specific price question, with respect to drugs I can easily get that information from my pharmacist, whether it is the cost difference between a name brand and generic or just the prospective cost of a medication.
These ads are one of the main reasons I became a cord cutter. I'm very happy they have not yet followed me onto any of the streaming services I use. They are the creepiest thing ever on television. The actors sit around dinner tables with family members speaking unnatural, FDA manipulated dialog ("Oh, I'm doing great, I've been taking Pradaxa for my afib, not caused by a heart valve problem!") Then you get the unendi…
I wrote a screenplay for a Prozac commercial. INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT FADE IN ON: Supremely apathetic insomnia-afflicted MAN fantasizing about putting a revolver to his head. NARRATOR (V.O.) (speaking at breakneck pace) Side effects may include suicidal thoughts... CUT TO BLACK as gunshot is heard. MOONLIGHT SONATA begins to play. SUPER: Prozac - Because you deserve to be happy.