Sometimes, one reads a statement so obvious that one needs to ask, “Why didn’t I think of that?” So it was that I read on the blog of Dr David Healy a most obvious observation about medications. “Drugs can have a hundred effects … but we only test for one”. In medical...
The problems with over diagnosis and excessive use of medication in children with “attention” problems have become so commonplace that they no longer have the capacity to shock. This is a problem in itself as these recent figures are shocking. In normal circumstances...
Recently in the media it was announced that there is now a new mental health disorder called ODD being used in the diagnosis of children. This so called disorder equates to Oppositional Defiant Disorder. The condition could be identified where a child has a repetitive...
As the year draws to a close it is interesting how three of the key themes that I have written about this year have all raised their heads. And those are 1) The medicalization of life 2) Over diagnosis from screening tests 3) Pharmaceutical companies misbehaving...
A US appeals court has overturned a conviction of a former drug rep for encouraging doctors to prescribe a drug “off label”. The court ruled this violated the First amendment rights and that the federal government had failed to show his comments were false. I am no...
We hear much about the war on drugs.There is a much bigger problem that has not attracted much attention or interest.That is the deaths,overdoses and addictions due to legal pain killers. An inquest is pending in the coroners court about a death related to the...
