Recently, the American Medical Association proposed a ban on direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs and implantable medical devices.
As someone who for years has been advocating drug-free pain relief through chiropractic care, I welcome this stance. I only wish the AMA would have done it sooner! I always encourage my patients to educate themselves on the drug-free, non-invasive and cost-effective alternatives for pain management and improved health, including chiropractic care.
It’s important to note that the U.S. and New Zealand are the only two countries that allow direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs. These ads are fueling the demand for high-cost treatments with known serious side effects, despite the documented value of safer and more cost-effective alternatives, including chiropractic care.
Research documents that the care provided by doctors of chiropractic – who receive a minimum of seven years of higher level education, including patient management – is often linked with better clinical outcomes, greater patient satisfaction and noteworthy cost savings.
As I have mentioned earlier, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cites that the U.S. is in the midst of a prescription painkiller overdose epidemic. In fact, during the past 16 years, the amount of prescription pain killers prescribed and sold in the U.S. has nearlyquadrupled, yet according to the CDC, no overall change in the amount of pain individuals experienced has been reported.
