It's For Your Own Good
Tennesseeans take "too many" perscription drugs. Everywhere else averages about 11 perscriptions per person per year. Tennessee averages 17.7. Doctors are freaked out.
The solution? A DATABASE! Goody. Just what we need. A central clearinghouse that will store the name of every person receiving prescription medication, along with a list of the perscriptions they receive. Doesn't that sound fantabulous? Aren't you eager to know that, with a touch of a button, someone can see every drug you take?
But it's okay. It's for your own good. Relax. Having a central agency know your business can never turn out badly...
posted by Kat Coble @ 4:13 PM
5 comments
5 Comments:
Wait...I've seen the X-Files and this cannot be good.
Also, I don't take any regualar prescriptions so somone is making up for my average...
The "average" american takes eleven prescrption drugs? ELEVEN?!?!? I mean, I've heard we're overmedicated but.... ELEVEN? Seriously?
I'm like Michael. I don't take any prescription drugs and rarely pop an advil. So somebody out there is taking twenty two. Or maybe they're taking thirty three in order to make up for both me and Michael. Poor sap.
This wouldn't be you, would it, Kat? :)
Jason
yeah, I probably am.
Since I have a chronic pain condition (Endometriosis & Kidney stones) I'm given a highly-controlled pain medication. But my doctor will only prescribe a month's worth at a time, to avoid the problem of addiction. Therefore I get 12 perscriptions a year. For that.
Then there are the various antibiotics and decongestants and allergy medications.
When I see these numbers, I always wonder if that average is for the number of separate drugs, or the number of filled prescriptions. The stories never make this clear. If I refill a contraceptive prescription every month, is that 12, or just 1?
I would assume (and you know what THAT gets you) that if a scrip has one scrip number that any refills are considered part of that same scrip.
In my case they won't do multiple refills off one scrip number because they can't date-regiment the scripts. Or so I've been told.
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