Share and Share Alike
May 29th, 2005 at 11:01 am by Susie
Great reflection on our nation:
Family physician Mary Frank couldn’t understand why one elderly patient with high-blood pressure wasn’t responding to his medication. She had been steadily increasing his dose, but his blood pressure remained unstable.
Finally, the man admitted he had been sharing his pills with his wife. He also would stop taking his medication a few days before his appointment hoping his blood pressure would be higher so that he and his wife could then split a higher-dose drug….
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When it comes to prescription medications, many people embrace the adage to share and share alike. Armed with good intentions and largely unaware of the dangers, they gladly hand over leftover antibiotics, asthma inhalers, antidepressants, insulin and pain pills. After all, if the drugs worked for them, then perhaps they’ll help similarly suffering family members, friends or colleagues. And, considering the drugs’ expense, throwing away excess, out-of-date or ineffective pills can seem like a waste.
Given the extent to which health insurance covers — by means like emergency rooms and these kinds of sharings — the uninsured already, wouldn’t we do better to just cover everyone?