Digging deeper into the new cholesterol guidelines

The American Heart Association, in collaboration with the American College of Cardiology, recently released recommendations that should change the way we prescribe medications called statins, including drugs like Lipitor and Crestor and their generics, atorvastatin and rosuvastatin. The headlines say stuff like, “More Americans may be Eligible to Receive Cholesterol Lowering Drugs!” I am a bit skeptical of news about statin therapy because Lipitor, before it went generic, was responsible for over 6 billion dollars in revenue for Pfizer and since it went generic, AstraZeneca is raking in more revenue than they did last year for their cholesterol drug, Crestor, at about 1.6 billion dollars. This kind of market influence is associated with significant influence on the attitudes of both physicians and patients through advertising and research support. I think that our love affair with statins cannot be separated from the fact that the sale of these drugs is a significant contribution to our economy. Continue reading ... Your patients are rating you online: How to respond. Manage your online reputation: A social media guide. Find out how.
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - Category: Family Physicians Tags: Meds Heart Medications Source Type: blogs