by When given a diagnosis by a doctor, it is expected that they know and act with regard to the full patient history. This knowledge then allows you to trust your doctor to make the best and well-informed decision for your individual health. Standard Western medicine often takes form in the process of diagnosis, prescription or treatment and recovery. However, perhaps Western medicine needs to reexamine its process and focus on preventing through enacting social reforms and services rather than treating it with capitalistic minded drugs.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) formally approved the race-specific drug BiDil in June 2005. BiDil, a drug treatment for heart failure, was developed for African Americans and was the first drug in the United States and globally, to be formulated with the intent of treating a specific racial group. For drug companies, BiDil was an opportunity to access a highly specific market and exploit those who were suffering from heart disease and failure. This exploitative reality transformed a deadly disease into a market of profit. The purpose of science in this moment was not for the greater good, but selfish practices. Not only is BiDil being used for monetary gain, but it is also perpetuating the stigma of racial difference through specified medical treatment methods dependent on the racial group being treated.
BiDil is an example of the Western medicine process being abused to serve the purposes of major drug corporations. Instead of focusing on the health conditions and circumstances that may lead to the need of a standard heart medication supplemented with BiDil, perhaps, reforms refining the standards of public health prevention and knowledge need to be made.
According to the National Library of Medicine and National Institute of Health, countries like Canada, Sweden, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and Germany all have varying health services but are more nationalized for public access rather than the United States’ which remains severely dependent on private company protocols. For example these six industrialized countries have all provided comprehensive pregnancy benefits and allotted time for extended leaves after births, however the investments have also resulted in lower infant mortality, diabetes, cesarean section rates and other pregnancy complications. Although an investment in the short-term, the long-term benefits have already started to outweigh the financial costs. A recurrent theme among the practices, is the high priority given to preventive services (Preventive Health Care in Six Countries: Models for Reform?).
In the US, diagnosis and medical treatments are prioritized to be the most effective measures to cure and treat illnesses and ailments. We need to shake this mentality and enact systems that rely less on the medicinal and technological development of treatments and instill strong structural systems that will aid in the progress of a healthy lifestyle and access to healthy knowledge. Despite spending considerably less than the United States, these countries have health outcomes, reflected in rates of infant and maternal mortality, low birth weight, and childhood immunization, that do not appear to be compromised and generally surpass those of the United States.
The US dependency on traditional Western medicine is due to the ingrained nature of biomedical drugs which yield high profits for large corporations. Because of this, technology in medicine has become favored rather than instilling healthy habits and precautions to prevent future illnesses. Much more can be done for our health to prevent the need for experimental and costly drugs. Prevention should be the first medicine used and drug technology should be second in line. However as biotechnology has become highly specialized in the US and the globe, medicine has become flooded with sensationalized drugs at the cost of the consumer to line the pockets of biotechnical firms and corporations looking for any profit.
Sources:
https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.W5.455