posted by Kyle on Jul 27
Prescriptions—who needs ‘em?
There is something really cool about living in a third world country. The government usually isn’t strong enough to enforce a bunch of petty regulations. They haven’t got the money and they haven’t got the motivation. This can lead to a lot of convenience.
When I was living in Belize, I had food poisoning a couple of times (that is also a perk of the third world). It was easy enough to get rid of. Two tablets of Cipro and I was good to go. No problem.
Antigua, it seems, is not such a nice place with regards to that. Pharmacies here actually want prescriptions. This is more than mildly annoying, especially since it is harder than hard to get in to see a doctor.
There is a medication that I take on a regular basis, and I’ve run out. My refill will arrive from the United States sometime this week, but until then, I’m stuck. There isn’t any of this particular medication available on this island, but there is an unpurified form. It isn’t ideal, but I can make do for a week on it. I went to the pharmacy and asked for it, and was told I need a prescription. Why? That is indeed a very good question.
It is a very good question not only because this medication is harmless and I only want a supply for one week, but it is just an all-around good question. Why must I go to a doctor, sit in the waiting room and then pay $100 to get him to jot down the drug I want? If I know what I need, I should just be able to go to the pharmacy and buy it.
Noooooooo, scream so many ill-advised individuals. Some of those drugs are dangerous! You might know what you need, but most people are dumb!
So what? Dumb people do all sorts of dumb things that screw up their lives. They drink too much, they spend their money on frivolous things, they have unprotected sex, they share needles. Then, they live with or die by the consequences.
While some people may want to enact laws to protect stupid people from themselves, reality dictates that this is impossible. No law that congress passes will make people smart. They will never be able to stop people from ruining their lives and killing themselves. Everyone knows this.
So, why do I need a prescription?
Throughout most of the world, medicine is an organized cartel. Physicians and their (soon, our) ilk have banded together and lobbied governments to require them. They may claim that it is all about safety, but anyone with half and ounce of critical thinking ability knows this isn’t the case. Its about money. If people can’t get the drugs they need without going to see a physician, they’ll come to the physician’s office, and pay him a nice fee to jot some stuff down on a piece of paper.
This is not what physicians are for! We’re not here to be nannies and keep people from hurting themselves. People will still go to doctors, but instead of going just to get a script, they’ll go when they’re actually sick. Chances are, they’ll not have to endure monumental waits, and they may very well pay lower prices due to a new supply-demand dynamic.
Oh well, we must all sacrifice so that the dumb don’t overdose….
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