What was it I've been saying?

Interesting article by the former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Drug Companies

"Over the past two decades the pharmaceutical industry has moved very far from its original high purpose of discovering and producing useful new drugs. Now primarily a marketing machine to sell drugs of dubious benefit, this industry uses its wealth and power to co-opt every institution that might stand in its way, including the US Congress, the FDA, academic medical centers, and the medical profession itself."

No kidding? A good analogy for the doctors:
Go into a used car lot. Look over the available models and then ask the salesman about past history or damage, accidents or mileage. 9 times out of 10, that salesman is going to give you a line of bull to divert your attention from what you want to know and move you directly to signing a contract or writing a check. He or she isn't in the least interested in your safety nor in what is best for your family, they are there to make money. Will you believe everything they tell you?
Now substitute doctors and drug company representatives. New drugs are given out as samples and variouss bits and pieces of goodies are offered as good business relation greasers. The doctor inquires about improvements and better efficacy of the new drugs. Just like a used car salesman, the drug rep. will try to divert the doc's attention by presenting "studies" proving that this drug is MUCH improved. Will the doctor buy it? Probably. Digging for the truth of the matter is just too much more to add on to the physician's daily struggle to provide care.

I pressed my doc to change my b.p. meds when they went up in price continuously over a period of months by 100%. We switched to an older, generic drug that actually works better than the fancy over-priced ones I was taking before.

This whole perversion is worse than disgusting. It's... I don't have the words to describe it.