I was talking with someone yesterday about the changes in mental health care since we became therapists some 35 years ago. We decided we are glad to be in the last part of our careers and not starting because we feel like a dying breed. I keep wondering why people are so willing to buy into the whole "better things for better living through chenistry" thing that permeates mental health care today and why they aren't more curious about themselves.
Yesterday CP&P to an article on the NY Tiimes on the emerging symbiosis between psychiatrists and pharmaceutical companies. As the Times reports,
"As states begin to require that drug companies disclose their payments to doctors for lectures and other services, a pattern has emerged: psychiatrists earn more money from drug makers than doctors in any other specialty...
The number most likely represents a small fraction of drug makers’ total marketing expenditures to doctors since it does not include the costs of free drug samples or the salaries of sales representatives and their staff members. According to their income statements, drug makers generally spend twice as much to market drugs as they do to research them."
Granted that nothing like all psychiatrists receive money from drug companies, but I don't think either that they can safely argue that they are not heavily influenced by the many goodies available to them from reps, in addition to the co-option of so-called opinion leaders in the field. Mental health policy is not being independently formed with the the best interests of the patients now; it is about money and who gets it. And it is money -- the skyrocketing costs to Medicaid that is leading to states investigating where drug company payments are going,
Is it even possible any longer to completely clean house?