Part 1 of this blog post asked two questions-

1. Are you choosing your doctor correctly?
2. Are you choosing your prescription/ OTC medicines correctly? 

In order to take an informed decision, one needs to obtain background information about your potential doctor, clinic, hospital, medicine (and pharmaceutical company that makes them).

Here are few quick tips -

1. Check if the doctor's degrees are authentic: With so many cases of degrees being forged and quacks running the hospital show, one needs to be sure, that the doctor who would potentially treat you is at least the medical expert he/she claims. An easy way is to check with medical colleges, city medical registry etc.

2. Surf internet about the doctor, clinic, hospital. Much information will be available (of course you need to screen wisely). Patients, caretakers, relatives post their experiences for the benefit of others. Try to source maximum information (in public domain) that will help you to decide.

3. Get a detailed quote about doctor’s fees, surgical procedures involved, time taken, hospital stay, approximate cost of medicines etc. Compare quotes and if there are major discrepancies, investigate deeper. 

4. In cases where a clinic or hospital expect patients to consume medicines and/or medical devices provided by the healthcare facility (and not buy from an outside pharmacy), doubly ensure authenticity of such medicines/ devices. It might seem gory but I’m aware of incidences where, stents picked up from the ashes of cremated angioplasty patients have been re-used by hospitals! Unbelievable and horrifying isn’t it? 

5. Take a second opinion about the diagnosis before embarking on the therapy. And severe the ailment, more important it is to take an independent second or third opinion regarding diagnosis and prescribed line of therapy, medicines to be taken. (I do understand this costs money. But then it’s better be safe than sorry). I’m aware of cases where patients were diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent surgery for breast removal. After several years they got to know that their diagnosis was wrong. It had happened because of a medical error by the radiologist.  

6. Before buying the prescribed drug products check if this medicine needs to be taken for life time. For example, blood pressure, diabetes medicines are to be taken lifelong. Check immediate and long-term side effects of drugs.

Importance reference points are- 

Physician’s drug reference (PDR) available in your library or online.

US FDA –Adverse events reporting website 
http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/GuidanceComplianceRegulatoryInformation/Surveillance/AdverseDrugEffects/

Independent free internet sites:  

http://www.rxlist.com/script/main/hp.asp  ; 

http://www.drugs.com/   ;   

http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm196029.htm ;

http://www.medbroadcast.com/drug_info.asp

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/dhp-mps/prodpharma/databasdon/index-eng.php

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginformation.html

http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancers-in-general/treatment/cancer-drugs/side-effects/

http://www.cancer.org/treatment/treatmentsandsideeffects/treatmenttypes/targetedtherapy/targeted-therapy-side-effects

Please note I am not associated with any of the above-mentioned internet sites, so I cannot vouch for them. It is therefore recommended to do good due-diligence before accepting information provided online by any website. 

Also, check if there are any reported interactions of the prescribed drugs with other drugs or food that you might be taking. For example, patients taking anti-malarial drugs such as Choloroquine, must abstain from taking tea and coffee (for the time they are on the medicine) to prevent eye damage.

7. Check who is the innovator company for this drug. Also, check which other companies are making and selling this drug in your country. Do price comparisons. 

The innovator company as the name implies, is the one who invented this drug and introduced in the market for the first time. Other companies sell generic versions of the drug. Both innovator and generic medicines are supposed to be equally safe and effective (scientifically termed Bio equivalent or therapeutically equivalent) in patients. Whether to buy a drug product from an innovator or a generic is left to the patient’s discretion.

8.  Check about the pharmaceutical company that manufactures and sells your medicine. 
Some companies don’t manufacture drug products they sell. These companies have them contract manufactured at other places. The rules surrounding contract manufacturing and labeling vary in different countries. In certain cases, this information is printed on the product label as “Manufactured by (name of the company) and marketed by (name of the company)”. In any event, this information is available for public reference at every country’s local FDA office. 

Do an internet surf and check published reports, reviews about the company. An important point to note is whether the company has received 483 notices (i.e. notice of non-compliance to prescribed regulations) from FDA. This link gives free information about USFDA inspection reports, observations and 483 notices to pharmaceuticals, medical devices and food companies http://www.fda.gov/ICECI/Inspections/ucm250720.htm#

Check if at any point of time the company was de-barred from importing/ exporting into your country. Also, check what steps did the company take to amend the matter before their marketing permission got re-approved. 

9. Check with your pharmacy if they have received complaints about the product from other customers. 

10. Check if the medicine has been dis-approved or discontinued in any country, yet available and prescribed in your country.

My experience is that, good doctors usually appreciate when a patient takes interest in his/her well-being. Patient’s motivation certainly gives a big boost to a doctor’s therapy.

Good doctors are happy to see their patient’s cured. So please discuss your drug research findings with them. Help them to help (treat) you. Your updates will also help other patients (with similar ailment). 

Hope this information benefits you and your loved ones. I’ll sign-off on this note-

Yes, YOU as the patient have a right to choose both your doctor and the medicines you take.
Don’t be a meek patient and accept whatever is handed out to you. Be vigilant and decisive.  
Get well soon… stay healthy and happy.



Disclaimer- In addition to terms and conditions, readers are advised to please note that, the information contained in this article is NOT a substitute for medical advice. It is intended to empower general public to understand the pharmaceutical world and consider ideas and alternatives while discussing their specific health scenario with medical and pharmaceutical professionals. Please discuss your specific scenario with a qualified Medical Doctor and ONLY follow health advice given by a qualified medical professional. Also, please note that each country has its own health care related regulation(s), readers are therefore expected to over-ride any information presented here to adhere to rules of their land.

#Healthcare  #DontSuccumbToMedicalFrauds 

For past few days, I’ve been blasted with news articles dropping in my email inbox, about allegedly corrupt medical practices affecting patient’s health and finances. Some of the articles were indeed interesting reads. With a disclaimer of not being sure about the authenticity of their content, I share them here for your quick review-

Big Pharma is America’s new mafia- 
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/02/21/big-pharma-is-america-s-new-mafia.html

How pharma is taking you for a ride?
http://dissidentvoice.org/2015/02/how-pharma-is-taking-you-for-a-ride/

The drug that is bankrupting America-
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/the-drug-that-is-bankrupt_b_6692340.html

Why are so many toddlers taking Psychiatric drugs ?
http://blogs.wsj.com/experts/2015/02/19/why-are-so-many-toddlers-taking-psychiatric-drugs/

These articles describe Pharmaceutical industry’s influence on doctor’s prescribing habits; fraud’s in clinical drug trials; falsified data published in prestigious medical journals and submitted to FDA etc. Worse still the published data doesn’t get corrected after true facts are known; nobody ever finds out which data is bogus, which experiments are/were tainted and which drugs might be on the market under false pretenses.

Over the years, many prescription drugs have been recalled after serious side effects and even deaths were reported in patient population who consumed those drugs. 

This is deeply troubling !

Patients go to the doctor with a hope that they would get the best of medical advice they deserve and be cured of their ailments. Instead they get conned, duped, misguided. I’m sure this is not the case with all patients or all doctors, but still, my question is- Why should a medical doctor misguide patients or prescribe unnecessary medicines to patients?

This is absolutely unacceptable !

But there is little an individual patient can do to change this alleged doctor- fraud hoopla, especially at the time he/she are ailing. At that time their first concern is to get well. I do realize that if a person ails, they need doctors and medicines, but gone are the days when you could trust your doctors, hospitals and medical care advisors to decide for you. The practical scene today is, YOU 'alone' are responsible for your life and health.

That said, I’ve two quick questions-

1. Are you choosing your doctor correctly?
2. Are you choosing your prescription/ OTC medicines correctly? 

Think about it- When you're job hunting, you research about the company (or potential employer). When companies hire employees, they do a thorough background check. So, when you choose a doctor, should you not do a background check of your doctor (along with clinic, hospital, drugs and the company that makes them)?

Most certainly the answer is affirmative !

To be continued in Part 2 …

Part 2 describes few ways, one can find background information about a doctor, clinic, hospital, medicines and pharmaceutical company that make them.


​
Disclaimer- In addition to Terms and Conditions of this website, readers are advised to please note that, the information contained in this article is NOT a substitute for medical advice. It is intended to empower general public to understand the pharmaceutical world and consider ideas and alternatives while discussing their specific health scenario with medical and pharmaceutical professionals. Please discuss your specific scenario with a qualified Medical Doctor and ONLY follow health advice given by a qualified medical professional. Also, please note that each country has its own health care related regulation(s), readers are therefore expected to over-ride any information presented here to adhere to rules of their land.

​Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

#Healthcare #Dontsuccumbtomedicalfrauds

Reports have been rising consistently about seizure of counterfeit packaged products- more so for pharmaceuticals and cosmetic products. Few probable reasons for pharma/ cosmetic products being soft targets could be- ease of counterfeiting, very high profits / gains to the counterfeiters, relaxed laws world-wide dealing with this issue.

My thoughts on anti-counterfeit measures on pharma products were re-produced by Express Pharma in their August 2013 issue. Picture and link provided for details http://pharma.financialexpress.com/specials/pharma-technology-review/2531-pro-tech-ting-the-brand

While, the crime seems to continue, it's encouraging to note that counterfeiting of medicines has been recognized as very grim. 29 pharmaceutical majors globally have come together with Interpol to devise ways for checking such crimes from happening and/ or catch the counterfeiters and penalize them appropriately under the frame work of law.

​Follow Shruti on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn

​#ContinuousImprovement   #Innovation

Innovation Forum :  Heard of Pacemaker hacks? It's true... implanted pacemakers are being used to transmit data digitally...so now, your heartbeat is the password !
 
Read NBC news link -

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/your-heartbeat-password-medical-implants-could-get-new-security-feature-4B11181764

There is yet another scope for introducing innovative products to you portfolio and/ or fortifying life cycle management strategies for your existing product pipeline!

For general community, this could be yet another option to help their loved ones quit smoking...

Currently there are several options available for people interested in smoking cessation- tablets, capsules, patches, mouth dissolve films, chewing gums etc...Yet another such option is E-cigarette !

According to recent news article published today in South China Morning Post World, and I quote herein, few paragraphs from what is published there-

"Taking a drag from an e-cigarette may be just as safe and effective as slapping on a nicotine patch for smokers struggling to quit, according to the first physician-run trial to compare the products.  About one in 20 people who used either patches or  e-cigarettes quit completely six months after the test started, according to research published yesterday in The Lancet.

Meanwhile, users of electronic cigarettes - battery-powered devices that deliver vaporized nicotine - were more likely to have halved their use of the real thing, even if they did not manage to quit entirely. The 657-person trial was not big enough to draw definite conclusions about whether e-cigarettes were better than nicotine patches, researchers said.

E-cigarettes have taken Europe and the US by storm. In France, there are more than 1 million regular users, according to a
government-commissioned report published in May.  Sales worldwide will probably approach US$2 billion by the
end of this year and top US$10 billion by 2017, according to a forecast by Wells Fargo & Co.

Nicotine e-cigarette users who quit took more than twice as long as patch users to relapse - an average of 35 days."

Additionally, French, British and New Zealand governments have advised their FDA to investigate more about these devices and their merits / demerits.

Reference-
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/1306340/physicians-give-electronic-cigarettes-glowing-report-first-trial-its-kind