1-800-BAD ADVICE

by | Sep 22, 2013 | General Health

As if yours truly didn’t already carry on about it, I am repeatedly being more convinced that things are really upside down in the medical world.

This is never more true than when I turn on the TV and hear for the very first time about the existence of a new prescription medication…  from a legal solicitation ad (perhaps I exaggerate a little).

You know, the ones that invite the listeners who may have been hit by falling debris from an airliner to capitalize on the possible opportunity to make some bucks off this unfortunate event, as it could be an adverse effect of their medication.

Seriously, folks. When drugs (and medical/surgical procedures and equipment) are taken through clinical trials, every negative experience of the drug takers is recorded and listed, from the plausible to the absurd. But there is a big difference between a “statistically significant” association between Medicine A and Effect B and “cause and effect”… that is, A causes B.

It’s like saying, “Don’t put me in that ICU! More people die in the ICU than anywhere else in the hospital!”

Unscrupulous attorneys take advantage of this ambiguity between cause and effect to convince juries to grant awards, or to create large class action settlements.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t hate lawyers. There is a place for malpractice suits and there are bad drugs and bad medical practice.

But don’t get your medical-legal advice from a TV commercial.