Podcasting since 2004; Conversations, conflicts, adventures and monologues from around the world.
Matthew Dons and I sit high above one of the busiest sections of Tokyo to discuss what it is that sets Japan apart from the rest of the world and why it is noteworthy and inspiring. We get into economics, demography, aging, work, family, healthcare and so much more.
Support Matthew’s campaign to fund his cancer treatment Matthewdons.org
The violence and threats occasionally are reported about in the mainstream media. The threats to funding have also grabbed headlines this year. Almost two years since the murder of Dr. Tiller, what is the state of abortion in the United States? For those who perform the procedure. For those who need or want the procedure. How have things been changing for all the actors involved over the past few years.
To explain the state of things I’m visiting with one of my favorite people, Leah, of the Philadelphia Women’s Center.
She was last on the program back in December of 2007, discussing the state of abortion in America at that time.
Anyone who has ever been to the United States, or watched commercials on American Television somehow, knows of the never-ending barrage of Pharmaceutical ads that have come to take over the gaps in between programming. They feature excessively clean and happy people walking through parks or high-fiving each other because some ailment they have has been cured by some brand name you should “ask your doctor about”. I can only imagine what its like to be a doctor in the United States today and have your patients coming up to you “asking about” a drug they saw on TV which they would like to have.
This has become the state of the American mediasphere, while over in the EU we still have in place relatively strong regulations preventing that kind of advertisement. Until now.
Ok perhaps the “until now” part makes things seem a little to dire, I would have done better to say that at this moment in time, the EU may relax its rules on Pharmaceutical and medical advertising. Relaxing doesn’t mean we’ve got old people holding hands and discussing pills to lower their cholesterol on TV. But what we do have is a potential break from the clear policy of no medical advertising in the media.
The information is not easy to come by, perhaps due to its complexity or vagueness, so it is not exactly being discussed by the major news outlets. What I’ve been able to gather at this point breaks down this way:
Of course many questions remain which I will now pose to various stakeholders and associations, regarding such a change. Is this taking the EU down the same path as the United States, towards bombarding citizens with clever and appealing visuals regarding what they should choose for when it comes to health and medicine? Is there a push now within EU institutions to pursue this as early as this year? While I’m at it, just how powerful and influencial is the pharmaceutical lobby in Brussels?
Hopefully very soon Ill have some answers which you’ll be able to find right here in a future post.
No this is not a spam post.
While in the United States I usually watch a bit of television and I definitely spend time listening to the radio.? One thing you’ll have no problem encountering on both of these mediums: ads that include the phrase “ASk Your Doctor About…” and then some perscription drug to help some ailment.? Apparently the public should then go to their doctors and tell THEM what drugs they want.
In the European Union this practice has long been banned. No ads with senior citizens strolling on the beach recommending that you ask your doctor about some brilliant new drug.
However, this October the EU will roll out new pharmaceutical policies that are intended to, in their words, “Modernize” the rules for the pharma industry.? One of the provisions they’re putting forward will allow the pharma industry to provide “additional information” to the public via the media.? Which of course would make it possible for some sort of television ad within Europe that presents viewers with what the industry seems additional info, whatever that means in the end.
Various medical organizations throughout Europe as well as Ministries of Health, are sounding the alarms, concerned that this is one step towards the US style onsluaght of ads suggestion you need to ask your doctor about this and that drug in order to happily walk through the forest.? The industry, meanwhile, insists that they would have no interest in that type of information campaign, and would instead want this to free them up for internet based info that people can request, rather than have it pushed on them.? Meanwhile, advocates of the changes insist that there are many other useful policies included in the package, and that there would be some oversight as to what would be deemed suitable additional information.
This change sounds like the first of many on the road towards a US style system where pharmaceutical companies treat people more like customers than patients. Beyond that, makes medicine ever more like a business than a service. Is it too late to stop them? I will try to find out.
The first installment of a series that i intend to further develop in the coming months, focusing on the pharmaceutical industry, especially their products; prescription drugs. In this series you will hear from researchers, doctors, lobbyists, consumers, and various other kinds of people involved in this complex world of making medication, forming policies about them, buying them, and prescribing them.
This first podcast, a longer one than usual, features two interviews with professionals in the research field:
My first guest, a returning voice on the Communique, he is Ed Vawter, PHD; he has worked for some of the biggest names in the business, as well as a consultant. I ask Ed about the current picture in the United States when it comes to the big drug producers, and we also get into Canada, Europe, Japan, even a bit of India.
My second guest, Jack Z, a longtime contributor to the blog, old friend of mine, and bio-chemist for a small company in the NY/NJ area. He and I will discuss what works well about the drug industry and what needs improvement. You also get to hear his experience working for a smaller company within the industry that includes so many big fish.
The lil suitcase is packed for the grand open ended journey through Northern Italy, Slovenia, —– (fill in your own following destination).
Prior to packing for the journey, I was watching a PBS Frontline Special entitled “The Other Drug War”. I believe it’s and old program, last updated (according to their site) in 2003, but the torrent just fell in my lap the other day. (transcript anyone?)
By the other drug war, the title is referring to perscription drugs for seniors in the United States. All those pills that control cholesteral, blood pressure, depression, asthma, etc etc… they cost senior citizens mounds and mounds of cash. And of course, the catch is, because they need many of these drugs to go on living, they are at the mercy of the drug companies.
In the program itself, we see seniors in Maine organizing bus excursions to Canada, where drug prices are fixed by the government in order to keep them affordable for seniors. (and I guess the poor too) During the bus ride, the people talk about how angry they are at companies for being so unreasonable with prices, and with the government for not intervening. Later the program explains that the state of Maine, as well as a few other states have actually passed laws that will control the price of drugs for seniors.. which of course has been met by huge resistance by the corporations, who have taken the states to court.
On the other side, you also hear from the companies themselves. Mostly from a few reps and many many lobbyists, since apparently pharmaceutical lobbies are the biggest and most powerful in Washington, DC. They explain that the government musn’t control prices or else their profits will suffer, and as a result, they won’t be able to invest in new life saving drugs. They claim that the high prices are because research is so expensive, so the pill costs nothing to make but you’re paying towards future drugs. If the prices lower, the expected response from the company will be to cut down on research. There’s even a French CEO of some big US pharma company (Eli Lilly)who explains that in France the government fixes the prices and therefore France lags behind the US and other countries in research and development. (number 5 in the world apparently, at that time)
And so I the viewer, with some help from the internet and perhaps life experiences, sit here and evaluate the situation for myself. Whats more important… research and development, or access to the existing drugs.
In the end, everyone will have mixed answers. Put yours in the comments. Here’s a brief version of mine:
With most products in this type of capitalistic system of ours, which does not necessarily believe in fostering competition in many areas thought many claim it does, i can understand setting a high price for the cost of making something or researching it. Technology for instance.. computers.. cars.. you want the cool stuff.. you pay more. But when I look at medicine, I see something more than just a product making business. While it may be a business, it effects lives… more specifically.. it can effect if someone lives or dies. While its surely important for research to be properly funded, I’m not convinced that the healthiest way for a society to do it is to run up the profits for pharmaceuticals while making the seniors pay the price. I think a drug, however great it may be, is useless if people can’t afford it anyway.
I said this earlier today and Richard, who’s just arrived here and has worked for many years in hospitals, says that it is the other way around. That controlling prices limits the work of pharmaceuticals and hurts medical advances.
Your turn.