Big Pharma: The Perpetual Thorn in Our Side
Dear Editor:
Your story ["Sickness Cartel Shows No Signs of Slowing," June 3 DC] pretty much makes the point that we are losing the battle against the "sickness cartel." I think you should save this story on your hard drive because you will be able to use it again 10 years from now and you won't have to do so much typing.
From what I see on a daily basis, what the general public thinks of us is that we are sitting in our offices waiting to give them a cheap crack of their spine with no workup or X-rays, and that is all that we do. So, what we have is a culture problem with the public. It is my firm belief that we will never increase our market percentage until we are as a profession able to prescribe drugs. I am hopping off this sinking ship and going to New Mexico to try chiropractic another way, because it is not working here for me and never has. Our national associations need to realize this.
Robert Walls, DC
Azle, Texas
The Most Powerful Weapon Against Pharma Is the Truth
Dear Editor:
Humans seem to come to Earth with a split personality: one side very quiet and spirit-oriented, the other side a noisy selfish, greedy, arrogant, insecure primate. Everyone knows these two sides of him or herself. Recognizing and controlling them as we age are the keys to growth, maturity, wisdom and peace of mind. Pharma appeals to the primate in us because it makes the idea of helping yourself seem easier, since it requires only taking insurance-reimbursable drugs and not changing diet, exercising or getting bodywork.
The primate side of humans has three traits that make it difficult to follow a reasonable and disciplined path toward health: 1) We tend to be nutritionally rebellious. 2) We tend to seek the path of least effort. 3) We tend to be easily addicted or habituated. These traits fit the drug model perfectly. That's why chiropractic is regularly shown to have more highly educated clientele who knows there are problems with Pharma. Unfortunately, those clients are not the majority of Americans.
As a result, chiropractic will have to take up the campaign against Pharma by exposing its ridiculous, unscientific approaches to health. We must expose the lies and report the dismal and deadly track record. Three excellent studies are available that show MDs to be the first, third and fourth leading causes of death, respectively. Two of those are published in JAMA. The third was refused publication because it didn't put MDs in a good enough light. The Sarnat-Winterstein project reported in JMPT is another good one.
Primary with Pharma is the underlying assumption that a person could actually regain good health while poisoning him or herself. When any of my patients list numerous medications, I typically say, "So, you're trying to poison yourself back to health with these drugs. How's that working out?" They always sort of chuckle and then are dismayed as we discuss how they have swallowed the hook and used Pharma's poisons. It is absurd to even repeat in your own mind the notion, "I am going to poison myself back to health. That should work!" It hasn't worked and it never will.
I accentuate Pharma's side effects and ask them if they think a drug is a vitamin the body needs or a poison that masks symptoms only. They always respond that drugs are a mask that often make them feel worse. I always explain how the physiology really works and how drugs are trying to block or inhibit a body process. I finish with, "This is nothing you didn't already know, right?" And they answer yes.
I regularly cite studies that report the damage done by statins; the completely backward approach to antacids; the omission of their likely gluten sensitivity, etc.; and the need to not only get chiropractic, but do blood work as well.
Aside from MDs, chiropractors should be making their patients aware that there is a "health-care complex" afoot, similar to the old military-industrial complex. It consists of the insurance, pharmaceutical, medical, government, media and food industries. The largest amount of PAC money flowing to Congress flows to them from the health-care complex. Congress is for sale to the highest bidder, and the Tea Party wants them all out. They are as corrupt, arrogant and greedy as they can possibly be. Enter the FDA, which is the SS of health-care corruption. They are the front men for the corrupt food and Pharma industries and openly promote for them while suppressing alternatives. The result is the health-care costs we have and the pathetic look of the overweight American.
TV time is required to get the message out, but remember that TV's best customer is Pharma, which generates at least 60 percent of all ad revenue coming into TV stations.
The most powerful weapon we have against Pharma is the truth. We have to find venues to say it often.
Tom Campbell, DC
Beaumont, Texas
"Tone of the Articles in DC May Unjustly Impugn Pro-Solutions"
Dear Editor:
I have been a client of Pro-Solutions and a ProAdjuster doctor for six years. While it would be a mistake for me to attribute the success I enjoy entirely to Dr. Pisciottano, as there are many factors at play, I feel that the current tone of the articles written in DC may unjustly impugn Pro-Solutions for financial hardships some doctors have weathered. I would not disparage any DC who has had difficulty with leasing companies associated with the purchase of Pro-Solutions' products.
While it's true that a DC's overhead is significantly increased with the purchase of a ProAdjuster and that many practices fail due to large overheads, I feel inclined to voice the opinion that I look back on my decision to purchase two ProAdjusters and be mentored by the Pro-Solutions family as one of the best decisions of my career. I would ask readers to retain a balanced view in their appraisal of the Pro-Solutions family. I am indebted to Dr. Moe and his staff, and I simply wish to lend a voice to balance the current litigation exposure that has been included in your publication.
Brian Ferguson, DC
Orangeville, Ontario
Medicare Fraud Compromises Honest, Necessary Health Care
Dear Editor:
Much has been written about Medicare fraud. There is now a vast area of fraud in Medicare which is not health care fraud, but identity theft fraud using Medicare. I personally have had my Medicare identity used seven times fraudulently. The first three times, I thought it was just a case of clerical mistakes. However, with the next four statements from San Clemente, California, Houston, Texas, Shreveport, Louisiana, and Augusta, Georgia, with astronomical bills for testing and treatments for several unrelated treatments to tests, I suspected fraud and reported them. The "doctor" in San Clemente supposedly worked for a group from Oregon, with a billing company in Phoenix, Arizona. That doctor's "office" and the "group" were no longer in business.
I have talked with other doctors who report that they also have patients with similar situations. It is a shame that ordinary, honest, necessary health care is being super-scrutinized and rejected because identity theft is taking place in Medicare.
Frederick Vlietstra, DC
Middletown, N.Y.