This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Knowledge & Support Community

As the actions of the pharmaceuticals, doctors and the overseeing agencies, FDA, are directly interactive in the daily exsistance and discussions of those needing medicine, I decided to post this link, I want everyone to know that I sat and truly thought whether to post this link or not, why? because I thought whether seeing the truth is actually to much to deal with, dealing with your specific disease every day of your life and then having to deal with the pathetic actions of those you depend on is such a daunting task.

Do these large corporations help people? of coarse they do, have the helped stop terrible suffering in the world, of coarse they have , and are there doctors who do what their hearts tell them to do to help people instead of their wallet, of coarse there are.

Unfortunately when money becomes involved in morality, morality is a loser, and greed steps in and we see a horrid flaw in our social structure.

The link below is one of many I have, on this page you can click on other links per section to read the overviews and statements, from my perspective these statements are written by credited individuals and the statistics valid.

As I said, I thought hard about posting this link or many of the others I have on this topic, but I think if you only know half the story, you will only know half the truth.

Philip


http://www.shirleys-wellness-cafe.com/ama.htm

Phil,

I totally agree with your caution about what to discuss in a group setting such as this. And believe me, as you well know, having lived myself personally through all the emotional ups and downs, etc. associated with being diagnosed with something as difficult to deal with as MS (and remember, the symptoms I had/have do mimic and overlap with MS, although truthfully, laboratory-wise and clinically, there's a big difference), I can attest to how utterly overwhelming it all can be.

It's an almost impossible task to know who to trust, try to live the best you can, accept viable treatments, become knowledgeable as possible on your own, etc. etc., all while feeling sicker than a dog! It's ENORMOUS!

As I mentioned in the other thread, since I worked directly on the "inside" (and was privvy fairly high up the ladder), it doesn't really surprise me the statistics you found. I experienced directly what you have mentioned. One of my job duties when I was in the corporate world, was researching and keeping abreast (and trying to forecast the best I could) the moves of and/or what the next moves of the corporate competition might/could be. I was also in mergers/acquisitions, clinic development, and managed care.

If/when it comes right down to ethics or money, I'm afraid that from my experience, money won out. No matter how much I screamed. (And believe me, I did yell, too! HAH!) And all that was before I thought I had anything seriously wrong with me medically.

Now having experienced things from BOTH sides of the fence, I guess I've become even more passionate, huh?

I, also, am not saying every corporation in the world is flat out corrupt, but boy...........a person has got to be very careful. And amidst being ill, that's hard for anybody to tread those waters.

And of course, not every doctor is corrupt, either. Of course not. As a matter of fact, I myself still would LOVE to somehow get back into the medical industry someday, somehow. There are plenty of altruistic people out there who do put the patient first. Unfortunately, there are just not that many sitting at the Boardroom table or talking profit share or market strategy. Ya know?

In spite of all that, we definitely need pharma corporations. The system is what it is right now. I feel, though, that we need more checks and balances in place, (for lack of a better term). Of course, you can say I'm one of those people who can blab about what's wrong with the system, but am I doing anything about it?

Well, I'm trying. I'm a little fish in a big pond, but I can and do make a lot of noise at times. My working with the Union and in law (although that's another whole topic of discussion) does afford me (us) with opportunities at times to help represent the little guy in being heard.

It's a hard line to walk. I'm not totally against big corporations, but then again, I certainly can't say I totally support all of their actions, either. But if anyone believes corruption isn't out there.........well,............no comment.



Deb