Overheard on the golf course:
“How did you earn your retirement?”
“I sued the drug company before they killed me.”
Too many medications are injuring people or can have serious side effects. Drugs to strengthen bones, for example, may cause serious problems or be entirely effective, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
As boomers reach to save their health and consume the attention of medical services, the market for remedies and drugs is growing and growing.
And there’s an increasing use of anti-psychotics to manage intrusive or annoying members of the family as well. Doctors are continuing to prescribe drugs dangerous to seniors in spite of government warnings, says CBC News.
Millions are elderly are prescribed drugs without adequate restraint. “Along with overall quality of care provided to a nursing home resident, it’s of tremendous concern that federal programs are paying for prescription drugs that could be unnecessary or potentially harmful for people living in nursing homes,” Iowa’s Senator Grassley said.
To paraphrase a comment from the investigation, the Hippocratic Oath of first do no harm has been replaced with the Pfizer-cratic Oath of first prescribe.