Stop Buying Medicines

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Stop Buying Medicines

Author : Praveen Wadalkar
Publisher : Notion Press
ISBN 13 : 1945926570
Total Pages : 61 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (459 download)

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Book Synopsis Stop Buying Medicines by : Praveen Wadalkar

Download or read book Stop Buying Medicines written by Praveen Wadalkar and published by Notion Press. This book was released on 2016-09-13 with total page 61 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Oh! I forgot to take my medicines! How often have you said this or heard people say it? We forget many things in our daily lives, but there is a difference when we forget to take our prescribed medicines. If you missed yesterday’s medicines, you can’t take them today – the damage has already happened in your body. According to the World Health Organization, “approximately 50% of patients do not take their medications as prescribed.” This can lead to significant increase in hospitalization, treatment failure and even death. With more than fifteen years of experience in the healthcare domain and after engaging more than 1,50,000+ patients through his organization, Praveen Wadalkar offers insights into the world’s biggest healthcare challenge – medication non-adherence. Whether you are a patient or a patient’s family member or friend, this book is sure to help save lives. It not only highlights the key reasons for medication non-adherence but also offers several strategies to enable people to take their medicines on time and as prescribed by their doctors.

Making Medicines Affordable

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309468086
Total Pages : 235 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Making Medicines Affordable by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Making Medicines Affordable written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2018-03-01 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thanks to remarkable advances in modern health care attributable to science, engineering, and medicine, it is now possible to cure or manage illnesses that were long deemed untreatable. At the same time, however, the United States is facing the vexing challenge of a seemingly uncontrolled rise in the cost of health care. Total medical expenditures are rapidly approaching 20 percent of the gross domestic product and are crowding out other priorities of national importance. The use of increasingly expensive prescription drugs is a significant part of this problem, making the cost of biopharmaceuticals a serious national concern with broad political implications. Especially with the highly visible and very large price increases for prescription drugs that have occurred in recent years, finding a way to make prescription medicinesâ€"and health care at largeâ€"more affordable for everyone has become a socioeconomic imperative. Affordability is a complex function of factors, including not just the prices of the drugs themselves, but also the details of an individual's insurance coverage and the number of medical conditions that an individual or family confronts. Therefore, any solution to the affordability issue will require considering all of these factors together. The current high and increasing costs of prescription drugsâ€"coupled with the broader trends in overall health care costsâ€"is unsustainable to society as a whole. Making Medicines Affordable examines patient access to affordable and effective therapies, with emphasis on drug pricing, inflation in the cost of drugs, and insurance design. This report explores structural and policy factors influencing drug pricing, drug access programs, the emerging role of comparative effectiveness assessments in payment policies, changing finances of medical practice with regard to drug costs and reimbursement, and measures to prevent drug shortages and foster continued innovation in drug development. It makes recommendations for policy actions that could address drug price trends, improve patient access to affordable and effective treatments, and encourage innovations that address significant needs in health care.

Bottle of Lies

Author : Katherine Eban
Publisher : HarperCollins
ISBN 13 : 0063054108
Total Pages : 512 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (63 download)

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Book Synopsis Bottle of Lies by : Katherine Eban

Download or read book Bottle of Lies written by Katherine Eban and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2020-06-23 with total page 512 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2019 New York Public Library Best Books of 2019 Kirkus Reviews Best Health and Science Books of 2019 Science Friday Best Books of 2019 New postscript by the author From an award-winning journalist, an explosive narrative investigation of the generic drug boom that reveals fraud and life-threatening dangers on a global scale—The Jungle for pharmaceuticals Many have hailed the widespread use of generic drugs as one of the most important public-health developments of the twenty-first century. Today, almost 90 percent of our pharmaceutical market is comprised of generics, the majority of which are manufactured overseas. We have been reassured by our doctors, our pharmacists and our regulators that generic drugs are identical to their brand-name counterparts, just less expensive. But is this really true? Katherine Eban’s Bottle of Lies exposes the deceit behind generic-drug manufacturing—and the attendant risks for global health. Drawing on exclusive accounts from whistleblowers and regulators, as well as thousands of pages of confidential FDA documents, Eban reveals an industry where fraud is rampant, companies routinely falsify data, and executives circumvent almost every principle of safe manufacturing to minimize cost and maximize profit, confident in their ability to fool inspectors. Meanwhile, patients unwittingly consume medicine with unpredictable and dangerous effects. The story of generic drugs is truly global. It connects middle America to China, India, sub-Saharan Africa and Brazil, and represents the ultimate litmus test of globalization: what are the risks of moving drug manufacturing offshore, and are they worth the savings? A decade-long investigation with international sweep, high-stakes brinkmanship and big money at its core, Bottle of Lies reveals how the world’s greatest public-health innovation has become one of its most astonishing swindles.

Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs

Author : Institute of Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309269393
Total Pages : 377 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2013-06-20 with total page 377 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The adulteration and fraudulent manufacture of medicines is an old problem, vastly aggravated by modern manufacturing and trade. In the last decade, impotent antimicrobial drugs have compromised the treatment of many deadly diseases in poor countries. More recently, negligent production at a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy sickened hundreds of Americans. While the national drugs regulatory authority (hereafter, the regulatory authority) is responsible for the safety of a country's drug supply, no single country can entirely guarantee this today. The once common use of the term counterfeit to describe any drug that is not what it claims to be is at the heart of the argument. In a narrow, legal sense a counterfeit drug is one that infringes on a registered trademark. The lay meaning is much broader, including any drug made with intentional deceit. Some generic drug companies and civil society groups object to calling bad medicines counterfeit, seeing it as the deliberate conflation of public health and intellectual property concerns. Countering the Problem of Falsified and Substandard Drugs accepts the narrow meaning of counterfeit, and, because the nuances of trademark infringement must be dealt with by courts, case by case, the report does not discuss the problem of counterfeit medicines.

Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic

Author : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309459575
Total Pages : 483 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (94 download)

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Book Synopsis Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic by : National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

Download or read book Pain Management and the Opioid Epidemic written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2017-09-28 with total page 483 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drug overdose, driven largely by overdose related to the use of opioids, is now the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The ongoing opioid crisis lies at the intersection of two public health challenges: reducing the burden of suffering from pain and containing the rising toll of the harms that can arise from the use of opioid medications. Chronic pain and opioid use disorder both represent complex human conditions affecting millions of Americans and causing untold disability and loss of function. In the context of the growing opioid problem, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched an Opioids Action Plan in early 2016. As part of this plan, the FDA asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to convene a committee to update the state of the science on pain research, care, and education and to identify actions the FDA and others can take to respond to the opioid epidemic, with a particular focus on informing FDA's development of a formal method for incorporating individual and societal considerations into its risk-benefit framework for opioid approval and monitoring.

Marijuana As Medicine?

Author : Institute of Medicine
Publisher : National Academies Press
ISBN 13 : 0309065313
Total Pages : 216 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (9 download)

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Book Synopsis Marijuana As Medicine? by : Institute of Medicine

Download or read book Marijuana As Medicine? written by Institute of Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2000-12-30 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Some people suffer from chronic, debilitating disorders for which no conventional treatment brings relief. Can marijuana ease their symptoms? Would it be breaking the law to turn to marijuana as a medication? There are few sources of objective, scientifically sound advice for people in this situation. Most books about marijuana and medicine attempt to promote the views of advocates or opponents. To fill the gap between these extremes, authors Alison Mack and Janet Joy have extracted critical findings from a recent Institute of Medicine study on this important issue, interpreting them for a general audience. Marijuana As Medicine? provides patientsâ€"as well as the people who care for themâ€"with a foundation for making decisions about their own health care. This empowering volume examines several key points, including: Whether marijuana can relieve a variety of symptoms, including pain, muscle spasticity, nausea, and appetite loss. The dangers of smoking marijuana, as well as the effects of its active chemical components on the immune system and on psychological health. The potential use of marijuana-based medications on symptoms of AIDS, cancer, multiple sclerosis, and several other specific disorders, in comparison with existing treatments. Marijuana As Medicine? introduces readers to the active compounds in marijuana. These include the principal ingredient in Marinol, a legal medication. The authors also discuss the prospects for developing other drugs derived from marijuana's active ingredients. In addition to providing an up-to-date review of the science behind the medical marijuana debate, Mack and Joy also answer common questions about the legal status of marijuana, explaining the conflict between state and federal law regarding its medical use. Intended primarily as an aid to patients and caregivers, this book objectively presents critical information so that it can be used to make responsible health care decisions. Marijuana As Medicine? will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, health care providers, patient counselors, medical faculty and studentsâ€"in short, anyone who wants to learn more about this important issue.

Are Your Prescriptions Killing You?

Author : Armon B. Neel (Jr.)
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 145160839X
Total Pages : 297 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

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Book Synopsis Are Your Prescriptions Killing You? by : Armon B. Neel (Jr.)

Download or read book Are Your Prescriptions Killing You? written by Armon B. Neel (Jr.) and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-07-03 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A veteran board-certified pharmacist cites the high number of annual deaths associated with prescription drug side effects, calling for changes in prescription practices that account for the needs of aging bodies.

China Rx

Author : Rosemary Gibson
Publisher : Prometheus Books
ISBN 13 : 1633883817
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (338 download)

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Book Synopsis China Rx by : Rosemary Gibson

Download or read book China Rx written by Rosemary Gibson and published by Prometheus Books. This book was released on 2018 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of Americans are taking prescription drugs made in China and don't know it-- and pharmaceutical companies are not eager to tell them. This probing book examines the implications for the quality and availability of vital medicines for consumers. Several decades ago, penicillin, vitamin C, and many other prescription and over-the-counter products were manufactured in the United States. But with the rise of globalization, antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control pills, blood pressure medicines, cancer drugs, among many others are made in China and sold in the United States. China's biggest impact on the US drug supply is making essential ingredients for thousands of medicines found in American homes and used in hospital intensive care units and operating rooms. The authors convincingly argue that there are at least two major problems with this scenario. First, it is inherently risky for the United States to become dependent on any one country as a source for vital medicines, especially given the uncertainties of geopolitics. For example, if an altercation in the South China Sea causes military personnel to be wounded, doctors may rely upon medicines with essential ingredients made by the adversary. Second, lapses in safety standards and quality control in Chinese manufacturing are a risk. Citing the concerns of FDA officials and insiders within the pharmaceutical industry, the authors document incidents of illness and death caused by contaminated medications that prompted reform. This is a disturbing, well-researched book and a wake-up call for improving the current system of drug supply and manufacturing.

Buying Rx Drugs Online

Author : Kate Chase
Publisher : Course Technology
ISBN 13 : 9781592006717
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (67 download)

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Book Synopsis Buying Rx Drugs Online by : Kate Chase

Download or read book Buying Rx Drugs Online written by Kate Chase and published by Course Technology. This book was released on 2005 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Internet can provide several cost-saving alternatives for the purchase of prescription drugs. Without adequate information, however, it can also be a dangerous alternative. Buying Rx Drugs Online serves as a smart consumer guide for anyone who is considering going online for medications. It covers the full range of the online pharmaceutical experience, explaining both the benefits and the dangers, as well as why medical professionals should be kept in the loop. It examines the convenience and consequences of buying prescription-and even some non-prescription-medication through the Internet. It offers valuable tips and advice regarding what to look for in judging the legitimacy of these sites and how you can verify the medications you receive.

Drugs for Life

Author : Joseph Dumit
Publisher : Duke University Press
ISBN 13 : 0822348713
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (223 download)

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Book Synopsis Drugs for Life by : Joseph Dumit

Download or read book Drugs for Life written by Joseph Dumit and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2012-09-03 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Challenges our understanding of health, risks, facts, and clinical trials [Payot]

Selling Sickness

Author : Ray Moynihan
Publisher : Greystone Books
ISBN 13 : 1926706684
Total Pages : 171 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (267 download)

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Book Synopsis Selling Sickness by : Ray Moynihan

Download or read book Selling Sickness written by Ray Moynihan and published by Greystone Books. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this hard-hitting indictment of the pharmaceutical industry, Ray Moynihan and Allan Cassels show how drug companies are systematically using their dominating influence in the world of medical science, drug companies are working to widen the very boundaries that define illness. Mild problems are redefined as serious illness, and common complaints are labeled as medical conditions requiring drug treatments. Runny noses are now allergic rhinitis, PMS has become a psychiatric disorder, and hyperactive children have ADD. Selling Sickness reveals how expanding the boundaries of illness and lowering the threshold for treatments is creating millions of new patients and billions in new profits, in turn threatening to bankrupt national healthcare systems all over the world. This Canadian edition includes an introduction placing the issue in a Canadian context and describing why Canadians should be concerned about the problem.

Drug Dealer, MD

Author : Anna Lembke
Publisher : JHU Press
ISBN 13 : 1421421402
Total Pages : 187 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (214 download)

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Book Synopsis Drug Dealer, MD by : Anna Lembke

Download or read book Drug Dealer, MD written by Anna Lembke and published by JHU Press. This book was released on 2016-11-15 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The disturbing connection between well-meaning physicians and the prescription drug epidemic. Three out of four people addicted to heroin probably started on a prescription opioid, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In the United States alone, 16,000 people die each year as a result of prescription opioid overdose. But perhaps the most frightening aspect of the prescription drug epidemic is that it’s built on well-meaning doctors treating patients with real problems. In Drug Dealer, MD, Dr. Anna Lembke uncovers the unseen forces driving opioid addiction nationwide. Combining case studies from her own practice with vital statistics drawn from public policy, cultural anthropology, and neuroscience, she explores the complex relationship between doctors and patients, the science of addiction, and the barriers to successfully addressing drug dependence and addiction. Even when addiction is recognized by doctors and their patients, she argues, many doctors don’t know how to treat it, connections to treatment are lacking, and insurance companies won’t pay for rehab. Full of extensive interviews—with health care providers, pharmacists, social workers, hospital administrators, insurance company executives, journalists, economists, advocates, and patients and their families—Drug Dealer, MD, is for anyone whose life has been touched in some way by addiction to prescription drugs. Dr. Lembke gives voice to the millions of Americans struggling with prescription drugs while singling out the real culprits behind the rise in opioid addiction: cultural narratives that promote pills as quick fixes, pharmaceutical corporations in cahoots with organized medicine, and a new medical bureaucracy focused on the bottom line that favors pills, procedures, and patient satisfaction over wellness. Dr. Lembke concludes that the prescription drug epidemic is a symptom of a faltering health care system, the solution for which lies in rethinking how health care is delivered.

The Truth About the Drug Companies

Author : Marcia Angell
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 0375760946
Total Pages : 354 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (757 download)

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Book Synopsis The Truth About the Drug Companies by : Marcia Angell

Download or read book The Truth About the Drug Companies written by Marcia Angell and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2005-08-09 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During her two decades at The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Marcia Angell had a front-row seat on the appalling spectacle of the pharmaceutical industry. She watched drug companies stray from their original mission of discovering and manufacturing useful drugs and instead become vast marketing machines with unprecedented control over their own fortunes. She saw them gain nearly limitless influence over medical research, education, and how doctors do their jobs. She sympathized as the American public, particularly the elderly, struggled and increasingly failed to meet spiraling prescription drug prices. Now, in this bold, hard-hitting new book, Dr. Angell exposes the shocking truth of what the pharmaceutical industry has become–and argues for essential, long-overdue change. Currently Americans spend a staggering $200 billion each year on prescription drugs. As Dr. Angell powerfully demonstrates, claims that high drug prices are necessary to fund research and development are unfounded: The truth is that drug companies funnel the bulk of their resources into the marketing of products of dubious benefit. Meanwhile, as profits soar, the companies brazenly use their wealth and power to push their agenda through Congress, the FDA, and academic medical centers. Zeroing in on hugely successful drugs like AZT (the first drug to treat HIV/AIDS), Taxol (the best-selling cancer drug in history), and the blockbuster allergy drug Claritin, Dr. Angell demonstrates exactly how new products are brought to market. Drug companies, she shows, routinely rely on publicly funded institutions for their basic research; they rig clinical trials to make their products look better than they are; and they use their legions of lawyers to stretch out government-granted exclusive marketing rights for years. They also flood the market with copycat drugs that cost a lot more than the drugs they mimic but are no more effective. The American pharmaceutical industry needs to be saved, mainly from itself, and Dr. Angell proposes a program of vital reforms, which includes restoring impartiality to clinical research and severing the ties between drug companies and medical education. Written with fierce passion and substantiated with in-depth research, The Truth About the Drug Companies is a searing indictment of an industry that has spun out of control.

Will Medicine Stop the Pain?

Author : Elyse M. Fitzpatrick
Publisher : Moody Publishers
ISBN 13 : 080248025X
Total Pages : 235 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Will Medicine Stop the Pain? by : Elyse M. Fitzpatrick

Download or read book Will Medicine Stop the Pain? written by Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Twice as many women as men will experience depression sometime in their lifetime, and episodes for women are likely to start at earlier ages, last longer, and recur more frequently, according to the American Academy of Family Physicians. Many women are given medication to treat the disease, but medication alone does not always address the underlying emotions which trouble the mind and spirit. Counselor Elyse Fitzpatrick and Dr. Laura Hendrickson provide biblical guidance on how to balance medical intervention with biblical encouragement.

The New Medicine and the Old Ethics

Author : Albert R. Jonsen
Publisher : Harvard University Press
ISBN 13 : 9780674617254
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (172 download)

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Book Synopsis The New Medicine and the Old Ethics by : Albert R. Jonsen

Download or read book The New Medicine and the Old Ethics written by Albert R. Jonsen and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 1990 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jonsen (medical history and ethics, U. of Washington Medical School) addresses the conflict between altruism and self-interest, which he believes is built into the structure of medical care and woven into the fabric of physicians' lives. Ranging through history from the mythical Asclepius to the lat

Mind Fixers: Psychiatry's Troubled Search for the Biology of Mental Illness

Author : Anne Harrington
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN 13 : 1324001976
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (24 download)

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Book Synopsis Mind Fixers: Psychiatry's Troubled Search for the Biology of Mental Illness by : Anne Harrington

Download or read book Mind Fixers: Psychiatry's Troubled Search for the Biology of Mental Illness written by Anne Harrington and published by W. W. Norton & Company. This book was released on 2019-04-16 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mind Fixers tells the history of psychiatry’s quest to understand the biological basis of mental illness and asks where we need to go from here. In Mind Fixers, Anne Harrington, author of The Cure Within, explores psychiatry’s repeatedly frustrated struggle to understand mental disorder in biomedical terms. She shows how the stalling of early twentieth century efforts in this direction allowed Freudians and social scientists to insist, with some justification, that they had better ways of analyzing and fixing minds. But when the Freudians overreached, they drove psychiatry into a state of crisis that a new “biological revolution” was meant to alleviate. Harrington shows how little that biological revolution had to do with breakthroughs in science, and why the field has fallen into a state of crisis in our own time. Mind Fixers makes clear that psychiatry’s waxing and waning biological enthusiasms have been shaped not just by developments in the clinic and lab, but also by a surprising range of social factors, including immigration, warfare, grassroots activism, and assumptions about race and gender. Government programs designed to empty the state mental hospitals, acrid rivalries between different factions in the field, industry profit mongering, consumerism, and an uncritical media have all contributed to the story as well. In focusing particularly on the search for the biological roots of schizophrenia, depression, and bipolar disorder, Harrington underscores the high human stakes for the millions of people who have sought medical answers for their mental suffering. This is not just a story about doctors and scientists, but about countless ordinary people and their loved ones. A clear-eyed, evenhanded, and yet passionate tour de force, Mind Fixers recounts the past and present struggle to make mental illness a biological problem in order to lay the groundwork for creating a better future, both for those who suffer and for those whose job it is to care for them.

Pharma

Author : Gerald Posner
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1501152041
Total Pages : 816 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Pharma by : Gerald Posner

Download or read book Pharma written by Gerald Posner and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2020-03-10 with total page 816 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Gerald Posner reveals the heroes and villains of the trillion-dollar-a-year pharmaceutical industry and delivers “a withering and encyclopedic indictment of a drug industry that often seems to prioritize profits over patients (The New York Times Book Review). Pharmaceutical breakthroughs such as antibiotics and vaccines rank among some of the greatest advancements in human history. Yet exorbitant prices for life-saving drugs, safety recalls affecting tens of millions of Americans, and soaring rates of addiction and overdose on prescription opioids have caused many to lose faith in drug companies. Now, Americans are demanding a national reckoning with a monolithic industry. “Gerald’s dogged reporting, sets Pharma apart from all books on this subject” (The Washington Standard) as we are introduced to brilliant scientists, incorruptible government regulators, and brave whistleblowers facing off against company executives often blinded by greed. A business that profits from treating ills can create far deadlier problems than it cures. Addictive products are part of the industry’s DNA, from the days when corner drugstores sold morphine, heroin, and cocaine, to the past two decades of dangerously overprescribed opioids. Pharma also uncovers the real story of the Sacklers, the family that became one of America’s wealthiest from the success of OxyContin, their blockbuster narcotic painkiller at the center of the opioid crisis. Relying on thousands of pages of government and corporate archives, dozens of hours of interviews with insiders, and previously classified FBI files, Posner exposes the secrets of the Sacklers’ rise to power—revelations that have long been buried under a byzantine web of interlocking companies with ever-changing names and hidden owners. The unexpected twists and turns of the Sackler family saga are told against the startling chronicle of a powerful industry that sits at the intersection of public health and profits. “Explosively, even addictively, readable” (Booklist, starred review), Pharma reveals how and why American drug companies have put earnings ahead of patients.