Pharmaceuticals: Money or Health? How different healthcare’s systems can affect your wellbeing.

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Side effects may include: death, physical debilitation, stroke or heart conditions. When taking prescription medication, that isn’t the warning label you’d expect or even want to see plastered on the side of the container. However, those are exactly some of the side effects listed on different prescription drugs available with a doctor’s note – but isn’t medication supposed to cure our ailments, not worsen them?

*medications hand full/read label first*

Well, we can start off by reading the rest of the label or accompanying reading material or informational pamphlet that come with most heavy-duty medication. Most warn that you should only take the recommended dose as prescribed by your doctor, and should always take in count any personal medical information that may affect any prescription decisions. Those warnings are quickly followed with an additional caution, that some people may experience some negative side-effects, although they can be benign, such as drowsiness, lack of concentration or lethargy, they can be as serious as the ones listed at the top of the article.

Whilst a cynic may point at the drug industry’s profit-driven decision-making as a reason for high prices, lack of availability and the sometimes high risk of addiction of their products, one may also make the argument that modern medicine and the people who enforce it are sworn to protect and heal their patients. The worse the ailment, the harsher the drug treatment and potential negative side effects. Although doctors do their best to determine the best medication regiment for the individual, there are small chances that the cure they seek may accidently kill the individual.

In countries where socialised healthcare means more competition amongst pharmaceutical companies, cheaper alternatives and more choices, the issues of negative side effects is greatly reduced. A wide range of medication available ensures everyone the same equal treatment with less dangerous drugs and therefore less risk of addiction and deadly side effects. Of course, different countries have different laws and regulations regarding the production and distribution of medication, and not all are able to enjoy proper medical treatment as a result.

That raises the question: Should pharmaceutical products be made to better one’s life? Whilst the answer will seem obvious to some, it simply isn’t the case in certain countries, where profits and economic bottom lines take precedence over ensuring everyone has access to healthcare and a better standard of living. Although often touted as a socialist construct, wanting access to universal healthcare doesn’t make you a bad person, it makes you quite the opposite.