It turns out that last year, close to 5 billion drug prescriptions were filled. The U.S. has a population of 343 million people. I’m questioning my arithmetic skills because that is approximately 14.5 prescriptions per American and I find that very difficult to swallow. Don’t pardon the pun. Stats reveal that 1.04 billion appointments were made for medical doctors in 2024. Supposedly, 28% winded up without a prescription being provided by the medical/medicine provider.
Stats were further broken down to the following: One prescription was provided to 18.6% of those above visits. Two prescriptions for 12.5%. 3 for 8.2% 4 for 5.9% 5 for 26.8% 10 or more for the remaining 10.5%
This is known as polypharmacy and seniors are the biggest victims. From 2008 to 2024 the increase in prescription writing was 88.6%. Apparently, people do watch a commercial and then ask their doctor if hundreds of horrid side affects is right for them. On the other end of geriatrics being over prescribed, there are children and they were the recipients of about 20% for at least one prescription and 7.5% of children were on more than one prescription.
Scarier still, about 46% of the general population used an OTC over the counter medication during the past week. Any week, they are gobbling down a lot of drugs. Just say no, does not seem to mean what it used to.
How all these drugs interact with a patient varies and how they interact with other drugs is unknown, until the adverse event happens. That makes it too late. Coming fashionably late to the party is no way to go through life, son.
In this politically correct world, I am not sure I can say what I used to say 48 years ago, when the 4th leading cause of death was Iatrogenic disease, which means death due to medicine, but I’m going to say it anyway, now that it is the 3rd leading cause of death. There might be a different way, a better way, called chiropractic. Especially since the most common OTC medication purchased is for pain control.
