Physicians take on timely public health issues

In Days 2 and 3 of policymaking at the 2016 AMA Annual Meeting, delegates adopted a variety of policies on important issues affecting the health of patients across the country. Issues range from controlled LED lighting to safe provision of dry needling procedures to better training for hemorrhage control. Attorney ads on drug side-effects Late-night television is rampant with attorney ads that seek plaintiffs regarding complications from new medications. Potential complications are spoken about in an alarming way, and often, it is the first time the public learns about those potential complications and side effects. These ads describe only the lethal side effects and not the benefits of the medications that many patients have experienced—but this is not explained to the viewers. To protect the health of the public, physicians Tuesday adopted policy to advocate for a requirement that attorney commercials which may cause patients to stop using necessary medications to have appropriate and conspicuous warnings that patients should not discontinue medications without seeking the advice of their physician. “The onslaught of attorney ads has the potential to frighten patients and place fear between them and their doctor,” AMA Board Member Russell W. H. Kridel, MD, said in a news release. “By emphasizing side effects while ignoring the benefits or the fact that the medication is FDA approved, these ads jeopardize patient care. For many patients, stopping a prescrib...
Source: AMA Wire - Category: Journals (General) Authors: Source Type: news