Motivational Interviewing

May, 27, 2014 | 4 Comments

Comments

  1. This afternoon I sent the bold husband off to see the doctor because he was becoming as deaf as a post, ye see. Although I have a deep distrust of doctors following the death of my son, I knew that the doctor couldn’t do much harm just having a look at his ears. He did a great job with his ears with some newfangled contraption and took his blood pressure. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health but said he should give up smoking. The bold husband agreed, having absolutely no intention as he’s totally addicted to nicotine. That’s when the doctor recommended this ‘new’ drug – Champix.

    Well Tony (the husband) of course was well tutored on the dangers of this particular drug and said an emphatic NO! The doctor looked bemused and said, and I quote – ‘but this is a new wonder drug’. Tony told him that he would be very concerned about the side effects of chantix whereupon the doctor said “no, no this is only a new drug, it’s a good drug and less risk than with the patches”. Needless to say he left without the prescription and had a smoke outside to calm his nerves.

    The strange thing is that he only went in with a blocked ear and if he wasn’t used to reading your work and others, would have left with a prescription for a drug that potentially could have killed us all. He was frogmarched back down to the practice with a RxISK report and the PLOS ONE study. He’s waiting for a call back as the doctor was busy. I’m just glad my husband was only deaf, not blind or stupid. The doc on the other hand…

  2. Okay, bonus medical ethics question: We all hope patients can “ask their doctor” for an honest opinion about whether Chantix is right for them. But what if you don’t have a doctor? No problem. Chantix will hook you up with an online consult for just $20.

    https://www.chantix.com/index.aspx#

    Note well, the doctors are from Amwell.com, a separate site NOT owned or controlled by Pfizer. But to get the $20 consult you have to enter a coupon code from Chantix – so they DO know who sent you. And I’m sure Pfizer paid to get you this discount. (Actually it’s a tempting offer even for those of us with a regular doctor and insurance. My copay is $30 to see my doctor, and plenty of folks pay $50. Plus there’s the convenience… Let the Chantix flow!)

    So … does this violate medical ethics? Are these doctors “independent”? And what if I do get careless or biased advice, and suffer as a result? Do I sue them, or Pfizer?

  3. […] Although I have a deep distrust of doctors, I knew that the doctor couldn’t do much harm just having a look at his ears. In fairness to the doctor, he did a great job with the husband’s ears, using some newfangled contraption. He was very thorough and also took his blood pressure, which was fine. The doctor then gave him a clean bill of health but understandably said he should give up smoking. The bold husband agreed, having absolutely no intention as he’s totally addicted to nicotine. That’s when the doctor recommended this ‘new’ drug – Champix. Coincidentally David Healy had written a blog on Chantix yesterday here. […]

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