Search results for ""Author Rosemary Gibson""

Millions of Americans are taking prescription drugs made in China and don't know it--and pharmaceutical companies are not eager to tell them. This is a disturbing, well-researched wake-up call for improving the current system of drug supply and manufacturing. Several decades ago, penicillin, vitamin C, and many other prescription and over-the-counter products were manufactured in the United States. But with the rise of globalization, antibiotics, antidepressants, birth control pills, blood pressure medicines, cancer drugs, among many others are made in China and sold in the United States. China's biggest impact on the US drug supply is making essential ingredients for thousands of medicines found in American homes and used in hospital intensive care units and operating rooms. The authors convincingly argue that there are at least two major problems with this scenario. First, it is inherently risky for the United States to become dependent on any one country as a source for vital medicines, especially given the uncertainties of geopolitics. For example, if an altercation in the South China Sea causes military personnel to be wounded, doctors may rely upon medicines with essential ingredients made by the adversary. Second, lapses in safety standards and quality control in Chinese manufacturing are a risk. Citing the concerns of FDA officials and insiders within the pharmaceutical industry, the authors document incidents of illness and death caused by contaminated medications that prompted reform. This probing book examines the implications of our reliance on China on the quality and availability of vital medicines.

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Many Americans believe that their healthcare is second to none. Most patients, therefore, fail to appreciate the flaws and dangers present while receiving medical care. In fact, the American healthcare industry is one of the great tragedies of this country, which is now being brought to its knees by the medical industry run amuck. The Truth About Big Medicine: Righting the Wrongs for Better Healthcare divulges secrets of the industry, which keep it focused on its own economic needs to the detriment of public health. The cost of American healthcare per person far exceeds other developed countries, yet it delivers life expectancies and infant mortalities that are ranked shamefully low among developed nations. Special interest groups and weak legislation created a “tapeworm” that continues to devour the American economy and shorten the lives of hundreds of thousands each year. Using true stories throughout, the authors illustrate that it is time for the public, students, educators, and legislators to recognize medical deception and secrecy, and to consider clear solutions on how they can achieve a safer healthcare system. A rich variety of authors with experience in revealing unsafe medical practices bring recommendations for changing healthcare delivery by taking an aspect of the healthcare system, identifying its shortcomings, and proposing ways to reduce harm plus correct the injustices. Included are discussions of imaging, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, hospital practices and procedures, and medical malpractice and negligence, among other topics. No consumer of health care should ignore the dangers inherent in the system; this book helps reveal them and suggests useful remedies. The authors maintain a website at http://truthaboutbigmedicine.com/

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