Show 1136: Do You Really Need That Pill?
The People's Pharmacy
Joe and Terry Graedon
4.6 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 27 September 2018
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Americans take a lot of medications. We appear to have adopted the advertising-based attitude that there is a pill for every ill. But while some medicines may be helpful or even essential in some circumstances, a lot of people end up taking too many of them. Sometimes doctors end up prescribing one drug to counteract the side effect of another. This prescribing cascade can really add up, especially for older adults who may be more susceptible to side effects. What can be done? Have you asked if you really need that pill?
Changing Guidelines:
A recent change in the guidelines for treating high blood pressure could result in millions more individuals taking at least one medicine (and possibly several) to control hypertension. Before jumping on board this train, doctors and patients alike need to know about the pros and cons of such treatment. What is the evidence supporting it? What are the possible harms? Can a problem such as elevated blood pressure be addressed with lifestyle measures? How can doctors help patients try that approach? Above all, find out if you really need that pill.
Drug Interactions:
Computer programs can warn prescribers and pharmacists about potential interactions. Too often, though, the warnings get overridden due to alert fatigue. Do patients need to research possible interactions among their various drugs themselves? How would they proceed?
Getting Off Your Medication:
One problem that should be addressed when you start taking a new medicine is how to stop it. Some prescription pills (even some OTC drugs) can be very hard to discontinue. How can doctors learn more about helping patients quit taking certain medicines?
Making Sense of Side Effects:
Most of the prescription drug ads you see on TV have a long list of side effects. Try listening with your eyes closed so you hear what could happen instead of watching people have a lovely time. Then ask your doctor and your pharmacist about these possible reactions. If they reassure you that they are rare, as they may be, ask exactly what that means: 3 in 100 or 3 in 10,000? That way you will be better informed to decide whether or not you really need that pill.
This Week’s Guest:
Jennifer Jacobs, MD, MPH, is a family physician specializing in integrative medicine. Dr. Jacobs is a clinical assistant professor in epidemiology at the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine.
Dr. Jacobs is the author of Do You Really Need That Pill? How to Avoid Side Effects, Interactions, and Other Dangers of Over-medication.
Her website is http://jenniferjacobsmd.com/
Listen to the Podcast:
The podcast of this program will be available the Monday after the broadcast date. The show can be streamed online from this site and podcasts can be downloaded for free. CDs may be purchased at any time after broadcast for $9.99.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This People's Pharmacy Podcast is sponsored by the Brain Gage, developed by neuroscientists at the University of North Carolina to study brain function across a wide range of applications, including aging and traumatic brain injury. |
| 0:15.0 | The brain gauge translates state-of-the-art neuroscience into easy-to-use methods that let you take control of your brain health. |
| 0:22.0 | Now available for home research. that let you take control of your brain health. |
| 0:23.0 | Now available for home, research, and clinical applications. |
| 0:27.0 | Find out more at gauge your brain.com. |
| 0:31.0 | Do you swallow any pills? How many? The average American adult takes four different prescription drugs each day. What are the risks? |
| 0:40.0 | This is the People's Pharmacy with Terry and Joe Grady. |
| 0:44.0 | According to the CDC and the FDA, |
| 0:47.0 | a hundred twenty-four thousand people According to the CDC in the FDA, 124,000 people die each year from adverse drug |
| 0:56.8 | reactions. Dr. Jennifer Jacobs asks, do you really need that pill? |
| 1:01.2 | People have an idea that there's a pill for every ill. |
| 1:06.0 | And instead of eating a healthy diet, getting enough exercise, |
| 1:11.0 | stopping smoking, doing very positive and |
| 1:13.9 | somewhat easy lifestyle changes many people would rather just take a pill |
| 1:19.1 | is there any way to change that trend |
| 1:21.8 | coming up on the people'sacy how to avoid side effects and |
| 1:25.1 | interactions. First, this news. In the People's Pharmacy Health Headlines, drug companies frequently justify the high cost of medications by citing the extraordinary expenses associated with research and development. |
| 1:42.0 | The pharmaceutical industry often |
| 1:44.0 | states that it costs somewhere between two and three billion dollars to |
| 1:48.2 | bring a new drug to market. Clinical trials necessary for FDA approval are cited as a major contributor to the overall expense. |
| 1:57.0 | A new study published in Jama Internal Medicine challenges the idea that pivotal efficacy trials account for a |
| 2:05.0 | substantial portion of these R&D costs. The investigators analyze data from |
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