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The thing that always shocks me is the number of Americans on prescription drugs. We eat this stuff like candy. 66 percent of all adults in the United States us

The thing that always shocks me is the number of Americans on prescription drugs. We eat this stuff like candy. 66 percent of all adults in the United States use prescription drugs[1]. 50 percent of people used at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days[2]. I get asked as part of a routine doctor's visit what prescription drugs I'm on, and I sometimes get weird looks when I say "none." I'm not a doctor, but these numbers seem totally out of whack and out of control. It's not just the elderly, either, although the percentages from 80+ aged folks do skew the overall numbers. 1: https://hpi.georgetown.edu/rxdrugs/ https://hpi.georgetown.edu/rxdrugs/ 2: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/drug-use-therapeutic.htm

brucehoult 2y ago
I was given my first prescription drug (to suppress stomach acid) around my 61st birthday. It's a PITA. Though the drug itself is "free" (or was ... my last pickup in December they charged me $5) they will only give you three months of it at a time and the freaking GPs office charges $20 each time to receive a "please can I have some more" request on their web site / app and forward the order to the pharmacy.
- donnachangstein 2y ago
  > they will only give you three months of it at a time and the freaking GPs office charges $20 each time to receive a "please can I have some more" request on their web site / app and forward the order to the pharmacy. I take it you are outside of the US? For all the criticism of the American health system, this has never been a problem. For most maintenance medications, which this sounds like it is, the doctor will authorize one year's supply, for which you pick them up every 30 or 90 days at a time. When you run out of refills the pharmacy will usually contact your doctor for re-authorization, typically at no charge. Often the doctor wants to see you anyway to check your progress before you run out. During your yearly visit there is usually a short conversation about getting medication refilled. The exception to this are when the doctor wants to order tests to see how you are reacting to the medication, or periodic tests for long term medications (in case they need to adjust the dosage). Things like pain medications or for urgent issues are dispensed as a one-time thing.
burkaman 2y ago
Does that include birth control? If so I think that would account for a pretty large portion of the 50% that used one in the last 30 days.
- relaxing 2y ago
  It’s only 12% of women of childbearing age on the pill - under 10 million. Another smaller chunk uses depo or norplant, but the CDC figures lump those in with IUDs so it’s hard to tell exactly. Either way a small number compared to e.g. statins.
relaxing 2y ago
Why do you think that’s negative? The most common prescriptions are for blood pressure and cholesterol, which has brought down the deaths from cardiovascular disease dramatically.

brucehoult 2y ago

I was given my first prescription drug (to suppress stomach acid) around my 61st birthday. It's a PITA. Though the drug itself is "free" (or was ... my last pickup in December they charged me $5) they will only give you three months of it at a time and the freaking GPs office charges $20 each time to receive a "please can I have some more" request on their web site / app and forward the order to the pharmacy.

donnachangstein 2y ago
> they will only give you three months of it at a time and the freaking GPs office charges $20 each time to receive a "please can I have some more" request on their web site / app and forward the order to the pharmacy. I take it you are outside of the US? For all the criticism of the American health system, this has never been a problem. For most maintenance medications, which this sounds like it is, the doctor will authorize one year's supply, for which you pick them up every 30 or 90 days at a time. When you run out of refills the pharmacy will usually contact your doctor for re-authorization, typically at no charge. Often the doctor wants to see you anyway to check your progress before you run out. During your yearly visit there is usually a short conversation about getting medication refilled. The exception to this are when the doctor wants to order tests to see how you are reacting to the medication, or periodic tests for long term medications (in case they need to adjust the dosage). Things like pain medications or for urgent issues are dispensed as a one-time thing.

burkaman 2y ago

Does that include birth control? If so I think that would account for a pretty large portion of the 50% that used one in the last 30 days.

relaxing 2y ago
It’s only 12% of women of childbearing age on the pill - under 10 million. Another smaller chunk uses depo or norplant, but the CDC figures lump those in with IUDs so it’s hard to tell exactly. Either way a small number compared to e.g. statins.

relaxing 2y ago

Why do you think that’s negative? The most common prescriptions are for blood pressure and cholesterol, which has brought down the deaths from cardiovascular disease dramatically.