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Showing posts from June, 2008
What's it made of... gold? Well, unless we're talking about a certain compound given for arthritis ( aurothiomalate , or Myocrisin for short), then, no, not made of gold. Oil, maybe. Heh , heh . (Actually, LCD, or coal tar, is a petroleum product but it is quite cheap--go figure.) So, what to say to these people with such inquiring minds? How about, "Here's the 1-800 number to Blanketyblankety Labs; why not ask them? And call me back and let me know what they say; I'm kind of curious, myself." Drugs cost whatever the company that makes them determines they cost. Pretty simple, eh? What goes into the price? Well, research and development, certainly. That's the ol ' R & D in the P & L. What else? Marketing. Marketing is actually a bigger slice of the pie than R & D. Why? Well, if you're the CEO of Company XYZ then you probably make a lot of "me-too" drugs, which is the way we pharmacy types designate drugs that really have n
Thank God for Insurance... O the humanity; O the irony. See, we shouldn't be thanking the insurance industry for anything. Nothing. Nada. Zero. But inevitably someone comes in -- this happens on a daily basis -- thanking God for insurance. Of course, what they really mean to say is I'm so glad I don't have to pay $637.98 for my bottle of pills. ( Pills , btw , are different than tablets or capsules : just a nitpick but a nitpick I just had to get out there.) What these thankful people don't stop and realize is that the person in back of them isn't going to get their bottle of pills. No, the God-given insurance company that they have paid their money to is going to deny them because they need to take two capsules a day and they only allow one . Doesn't matter if the doctor has already tried the one per day regimen. Doesn't matter that two per day works just fine. Oh, and the person who was just ahead of that one who was so thankful? She left because she ne
Tea Tree oil is a great multipurpose treatment to use on a number of ailments. Whether you are looking to repel insects in your garden or if you are looking to clear up your acne, tea tree oil is a great alternative. read more digg story Amazing herbal remedy! Cures Acne! Kills Lice! Empties ... Pockets! (of your cash). Actually, it isn't terribly expensive, but my point is that this isn't exactly science that is being bandied about here. I am not saying tea tree oil is snake oil: there may be benefits to using tea tree oil. But where is the proof? And I'm not talking about what the neighbor said concerning her little Johnny's case of lice ("Here today, gone tomorrow! Amazing stuff. You got to get some!"). I want some double-blind study to look over. If something is so great -- remember the early buzz on coral calcium? Cancer cure, anyone? -- then we should be able to show that it actually, undeniably, works . Show me the study. Homeopathy is the greatest ex
"Pretty busy over there... mind if I cash out here?" the guy says. Gee, nope. We were just sayin'--weren't we Sally (Sally over there is my technician, though heck, why would we be needin' a technician when we've got nuthin' to do I just cannot say)--that for the past two hours we done nuthin' but twiddle our thumbs. Mine's about to fall right off. Busy are they? I bet they are. Why they gots to cash out peoples like you and me and me and you and they just go on and on and on. We only have to answer the phone, call the insurance companies, call the doctors, call the hospital, fax the doctors, correct their mistakes, call back the doctors, call back the insurance companies, yell at the insurance companies, fill prescriptions (I like that part, personally)...and then we gots to ring all you fine folk out just like they do up at the front of the store. Busy are they? Good. Son of a cabbage, that's just jimminy cricket good.