You've seen them on TV, heard them on the radio, seen them in a magazine, newspaper or online. They'll cure your heartburn, stop your allergy suffering, help you sleep at night, even clean out your toenail fungus.
They are ads and commercials for prescription drugs -- drugs you can't buy without your doctor's recommendation. Did you ever wonder why those ads are directed at you instead of your doctor?
They are aimed at you because they work, meaning, they encourage you to "ask your doctor." But, in too many cases, less-savvy patients don't ask their doctors. Instead they tell them, "Doctor, give me that purple pill."
It can be dangerous, because most patients don't know for sure that the advertised drug will be particularly helpful to them. And too often, frazzled doctors, behind on their appointments for the day, and glancing at a patient's chart too quickly, will simply give in to a patient and prescribe a drug for him, even if it isn't the best choice.
Of course, that leads to increased sales and increased profits for the manufacturers and distributors. No wonder we see so many ads and commercials!
An empowered patient asks, instead, how to use those ads to her benefit. Here's how to make that happen:
- When you see or hear an advertisement or commercial for a prescription drug that might help your symptoms, then think of the ad as a starting point for some of your own research. Do you have heartburn or acid reflux? Well, now you know there is a group of medicines that will help alleviate symptoms.
- Write down the name of the drug. Then go to the Internet, look up the medicine you saw advertised, and read all about it. You can access the manufacturer's site, but you should also look at material not tied to the drug maker -- such profiles on the About.com Drugs A-Z database.
- Now do a search for other medicines that address gastric reflux. In fact, you'll find them listed here at About.com. Learn what you can about them, their side-effects, interactions and the details about them that might make them dangerous for you, called contraindications.
Once you understand all the possibilities, make an appointment with your doctor to discuss them. Since you've learned the plusses and minuses of each possibility, the conversation with your doctor will be more likely to make sense to you. You can ask intelligent questions, understand the doctor's answers, and together you can decide whether there is a medication that will truly help you -- not just one you happened to see on TV or read about in a magazine or newspaper.
An empowered patient understands her role in partnering with her doctor, and not telling her doctor what to do. Watching drug ads with a discerning eye is the approach an empowered patient will take.
