Superb commentary on overprescribing

Clearly not written by a surgeon

We surgeons usually like to “cut” to the chase.. no pun intended. I might say that I liked talking to patients and trying to figure out what they were doing/eating/taking before I recommended surgery. Why? Well obvious reasons relate to the hazards of surgery related to medications being used. Example… “Let’s stop that blood thinner XXX days before your operation so you don’t bleed terribly.” or “Your BMI is so high that complications are likely” Or “let’s have to do some simple things like walk and talk and evaluate your “frailty index”….And the list goes on.

But I would clearly say the doctor who wrote this article (a bit longer than a surgeon might have written..), though wordy is “spot on” Yes indeed.. I have a “bad taste” in my mouth about Statins…. dangerous..and doctors don’t tell the patients about it. We have so many liver damaged patients needing transplant - due to excessive NSAIDs…. the list goes on.

I called it poly pharmacy….then… and now. Bottom line.. does your doctor/internist/cardiologist/surgeon… actually talk to you about your medicines? Risks? etc..If he/she is “too busy” to talk to you I recommend another doctor who isn’t so busy.

And the hat tip goes to my good friends in Austin… they know who they are. We go “way back”……..

https://sebastianrushworth.com/2022/06/14/should-the-patient-really-get-the-drug/