Are doctors making money perscribing pills to us? Sometimes I get that feeling they are handing it out like candy.
I'm not saying they don't care for our well being but are they taking advantage of our situation.

I have friends that have pills everywhere in thier homes and some are for minor things that you can get over the counter. (example: upset stomach)

I don't know but I wouldn't be surprised. and some over the counter drugs aren't as good as the proscribed for the same purpose.

sure...!! for every drugs they write on recipe, they'll get money from drug factory.

I know in Canada the doctors get paid a percentage for every prescription they write.

I think it's the drug companies and insurance agencies that are making money off us. In the American medical system a large percentage of our health care costs cover the exorbitant insurance policies of our doctors. I've lived in places where it was almost impossible for women to find an Ob-GYN because they'd all stopped practicing for fear of being sued.

Drug companies tell us they have to charge a lot to cover their several billion dollar research costs and proceed to make several trillion dollars of profit.

My sister is a doctor. No, they don't get kick backs from drug companies and they don't get money from writing prescriptions. At least not in the USA.

What they do often get are drug samples from the drug companies and swag (aka, calendars, coffee mugs, sometimes even higher value goods as "promotional" items).

Retail pharmacies don't even make a ton of money off of the drugs they dispense (I used to be a state certified Rx technician)... they buy from distributors and don't sell product much above what they pay the distro's for the drugs. Now the distro's actually make a pretty penny, but the real money happens at the drug company level.

Now hospitals are a completely different story... but it's not hte docs making the money, it's the hospital that is. They mark drugs WAY up--$15+ for an asprin isn't uncommon. They say they jack the price up to cover the overhead for operating costs; nurses, docs, beds, equipment, basically everything in a hospital that costs money. Hence the rationale a .05 cent asprin costs $15 if you're admitted to a medical facillity.

But the docs really don't see any of that... they are paid a salary in most cases.

My sister is in private practice and she's a university professor as well. I actually make more money than she does and I'm a software developer.

ahh.. those fancy mugs and ball-point.. i always try to take em everytime i go to doctor..

This is absolutely correct.

I've been aware of it as kickbacks, but it seems the acceptable term is formulary position; which is indicative of necessitated need in prescriptions. In other words, they jockey for position as most suitable medicine for treatment:

http://www.counterpunch.org/rost04112007.html

Doctors work to make money. Just like everyone else.

Your friends with all the pills sounds like a hypercondriact(mispelled I am sure).

In Europe they do not because the drugs are paid for by socialized medicine. That does not stop pharmaceutical companies from offering doctors vacations to convince them of the quality of their medicines.

My sis talks about this all the time (she's an oncologist). She has had pharaceutical (sp?) reps offer her everything from pens and mugs to sports tickets, discount vacations, and once, a car, to push their product.

Recently there was a study of drug-related deaths and illnesses in the US. Don't recall what that was, but, if I remember correctly, it was cited in an AARP article (yeah, I'm a member, old fogey). For those unfamiliar, the incidence of those problems has risen tremendously.

All one has to do is watch TV in this country, and look at all these ads from the drug companies, to make the overt determination that someone is making a helluva lot of money. Ads aren't cheap, and whoever says those companies are poor needs to look at the stock market.

Recently, a close one was given a relaxation pill for dental work (yes, dentists are doctors too, more or less; if they can prescribe, as many can, they must be classified in the same group). The pill cost her $225. Later on, we checked a pharmacy, and the single, lonely pill could be bought there for $4.57. I wonder who made the money.

In the USA, dentists are a whole different thing from doctors in regards to what they profit from. I know weird.

Most insurance companies only cover dental work 50%, the other 50% is the patients responsibility. If the dentist dispensed the drug, the insurance company will reimburse him for a certain dollar amount for that drug. The other 50% is up to the patient. It's like what hospitals do and charge extra for the "overhead". Most dentists are in private practice though and they DO directly profit from drugs they dispense from their offices. In my opinion, dentists are a racket. I NEVER allow my dentist to dispense meds to me where it can be avoided, I ALWAYS ask him to write a script ahead of time for tablet meds I might need to take for a procedure, then I bring it to the office with me. I refuse to pay $250 to cover his padded overhead.

What insurance companies will cover and reimburse dentists for ALSO include extra for overhead. Me thinks your specific dentist was probably acting unethically (basically double-billing). I'd bring it up to your insurance company if you have one that covers dental work. I'd be po'd.

Doctors do deserve what they make and more, but I wanted to know what or if there was a take in pharmaceutical drugs they perscribe. I have heard the News talking about how more people are dying from side effects from the drugs that were perscribed to them.

My friends do have normal lives, it was until I saw what was in thier homes...
(lol) long words do that to me too.

General Practice doctors actually aren't floating in a sea of money. They do ok, but they're not wallowing in cash. Surgeons and specialists do much better.

Honestly, general practice doctors make mistakes and uninformed drug decisions ALL the time. It was unbelievable what docs would prescribe to patients when I worked in pharmacies. As technicians and pharacists, we used to make countless calls to doctors every day and ask them if that's REALLY what they meant to prescribe. It's worse with these samples that doctors offices give out because there is NO pharmacist there to say "hey, do you realize that this might not be the wisest treatment for this patient?"

When my family finally moved my grandfather into assisted living several years ago, my mother called me over to take a look at the HUGE bag of meds he was on. Some IDIOT of a doctor had actually put him on birth control pills for some unknown reason. He must have had 30 different drugs he was on, and that's BAD, given the fact that my grandfather had advanced dementia and had no clue what any of those drugs were.

With the help of a GOOD doctor, we trimmed his meds down to 3, mostly heart meds, and for about a year, his dementia actually got better once he was off the drugs.

My advice to people (all people) is NEVER go to the doctor without an "advocate" with you. Basically a neutral person who will listen to what the doctor is saying, who will ask questions that you might not think of, and will act as your champion. It's a way to keep yourself healthier.