| Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News | Media Information | Advertise with Natural News | ||||
![]() |
![]() |
|||
|
||||
|
|
When a study is well-designed, it's quite remarkable how often the result documents the high risks associated with conventional medical care. Once again, it's clear that pharmaceutical drugs carry great risks. However, as discussed at the end of this article, this study documents only a very small proportion of harm done by pharmaceutical drugs. Study Design The study, reported by the Canadian Medical Association Journal, was carefully designed by a panel of eleven pharmacists and doctors. The hospital was Vancouver General Hospital, which is large (955 beds) and offers a wide range of services, including emergency care. About 69,000 patients are treated every year. The study team practiced the data collection process on real patients during a four week trial period. Three pharmacy research assistants who had been through pharmacy residency collected the data. The attending physician was asked his or her opinion of the reason for admission. If there was a discrepancy between the physician's and pharmacist's opinions, a panel consisting of one emergency doctor and one pharmacist adjudicated. To be included in the study, both panel members had to agree, with a high degree of certainty, that the cause was pharmaceutical. Patients were randomly selected through use of a computer random number generating program. Any patient who had been transferred from another hospital or was returning for a scheduled visit was not included. During the course of the study, 14,911 emergency patients were seen by the hospital. Of those, 1,194 were randomly selected and considered for the study. The number of study patients was 1,017. Of these, 122 -- 12% -- were seen for prescription drug-related problems. Of those, the study determined that 83 -- 68% -- were preventable. Characteristics of patients who were in ER for pharmaceutical problems: * Average age was 51.9. * 62 (50.8%) were female. * Number of comorbidities (other conditions) was 2.5 . * Only 8 (6.8%) of the 117 used any complementary or alternative medications. The authors never stated whether they were the cause of any of the ER visits. However, of the people in ER for non-drug related reasons, 11.1% had used complementary/alternatives. That is, the alternative medicine users were 61.2% less likely to require ER services for complications with pharmaceuticals. (This point was not made by the authors, but the data clearly supports the statement.) Study Results The most significant types of drugs that sent people to the ER are as follows: * Antimicrobial agents (mostly antibiotics), 11.2% * Opioids, 11.2% * Antipsychotics, 9.5% * Benzodiazepines, 6.1% The authors defined 68.0% of the pharmaceutical-caused ER visits as preventable. Severity of the incidents were classed as: * Mild, 19 cases (15.6%), not requiring treatment. * Moderate, 91 cases (74.6%), requiring treatment or hospital admission, or resulting in non-permanent injury. *Severe, 12 cases (9.8%), life threatening or resulted in permanent disability. Causes of drug-induced ER visits were defined as follows: * Adverse drug reactions, 393% * Non-adherence to instructions, 27.9% * Wrong or suboptimal drug, 11.5% 36.9% of those who went to the ER because of pharmaceutical problems were hospitalized, while 21.0% who went for other reasons ended up hospitalized. The median length of stay for the drug-related cases was significantly longer: 8 days, 2 days longer than the non-drug cases. What This Study Shows Us It's certainly interesting that we can confidently state that pharmaceutical drugs account for 12% of emergency room visits. This, though, is probably a very small percentage of the true pharmaceutical holocaust. Most drug-induced illnesses are never officially acknowledged. When a person develops Cushing's syndrome, the fact that it was likely caused by prescribed steroids is not generally noted and would not have been picked up by this study. In fact, the host of serious illnesses caused by steroids would not have shown up. The multitude of people who have become diabetic or developed heart disease is not figured in here. Other drugs, such as beta blockers, cause a huge amount of illness, though the connection between the drug and the illness is rarely made. As demonstrated over and over on Natural News, the effects of pharmaceutical drugs are rarely benign. There is usually a price to be paid for using them. Occasionally, the price is a trip to the ER, or even death directly induced by the drug. In far more cases, though, the effects are seen months, often years, later, and the connection to the drug is never made. Reference: Canadian Medical Association Journal, "Incidence, severity and preventability of medication-related visits to the emergency department: a prospective study", 2008;178(12):1563-9 About the author* Heidi Stevenson, BSc, DIHom, FBIH* Fellow, British Institute of Homeopathy * Gaia Health (http://www.gaia-health.com) * * The author is a homeopath who became concerned with medically-induced harm as a result of her own experiences and those of family members. She says that allopathic medicine is the arena that best describes the motto, "Buyer beware." * * * Heidi Stevenson provides information about medically-induced disease and disability, along with incisive well-researched articles on major issues in the modern world, so members of the public can protect themselves. * She can be reached through her website: www.gaia-health.com Related CounterThink Cartoons:
|
![]() 8 Weeks to Vibrant HealthLearn why this is the must-read guide to women's health you've been waiting for... Click here...
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
| What is this? |
Recommended Products Related to This Article*:Free download: Selling Sickness (summary)Read the best book on disease mongering for learning the truth about Big Pharma How to Halt Diabetes in 25 Days☯ Health Ranger guide to reversing diabetes for reversing type-2 diabetes Revealed: Natural Health Solutions (free) Free summary of book by Mike Adams for learning censored natural health remedies The Weiss Method for Heart Disease☯ How to reverse heart disease naturally for heart disease, high cholesterol Exposed! The Toxic Chemistry of Products Free summary of this shocking book for learning the truth about toxic products Appetite for Profit (free download) Free download summary of this top book for discovering the truth about food companies Additional Products of Interest to AllKatadyn Exstream XR Water Purifier☯#1 personal water purifier for clean, pristine water in seconds Preparedness Tools Natural News Bundle☯ For preparedness and safety: 60% off for preparing for natural disasters The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton A free download of Biology of Belief for learning about the mind-biology connection The Genie In Your Genes by Dawson Church A free, downloadable summary of this book for learning about the biology of intention Katadyn MicroPur Water Purifier Tablets☯ The best water purification tablets for purifying almost any water source * Products do NOT pay to be listed here. These are genuine, independent recommendations by the Health Ranger ☯ Products with this symbol are sold by NaturalNews or its affiliates and earn revenues for NaturalNews |
Also on NaturalNews:• Streaming Health Ranger Videos• CounterThink Cartoons • FREE Special Reports • Podcasts |
Home | About Natural News | Contact Us | Write for Natural News | Media Information | Advertise with Natural News This site is part of the Natural News Network © 2009 All Rights Reserved. Privacy | Terms All content posted on this site is commentary or opinion and is protected under Free Speech. Truth Publishing International, LTD. is not responsible for content written by contributing authors. The information on this site is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not intended as a substitute for professional advice of any kind. Truth Publishing assumes no responsibility for the use or misuse of this material. Your use of this website indicates your agreement to these terms and those published here. All trademarks, registered trademarks and servicemarks mentioned on this site are the property of their respective owners. |
![]() |