Hi E-druggers,
"Follies and Fallacies in Medicine" (Skrabanek) is a good starting point in
order to understand why patients have a different perspective and why the
medical profession does not know how to deal with "placebo".
Mrs Geraldine Bartlett, TPS Drug Information Centre, Johannesburg
is looking for private sector guidelines for OTC treatment of cough.
Scientifically speaking there is little that works, but reality is
also there that people do want to buy something.
My point of view is if they can afford private prescriptions,
either by way of paying themselves or by way of medical aids
or over the counter, they deserve what they get.
As far as state subsidized health care such as in Namibia and
South Africa they should be and are entitled to "Reasonable
Health Care".
Cough Mixtures are not "Reasonable Health Care". As Joel Lexchin
pointed out they don't work, and even if they did they don't treat
the condition, just the symptoms.
Private GPs here prescribe it because of the competition.
Or to rip the patient off, in particular in so called dispensing cash
"black" practises, where the patients get a package deal including
some medication, the cheaper the more profit for the GP.
Eventually those patients come into the state health system where
they then get worked up and their Tuberculosis, PCP or Pneumonia
gets treated.
el
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