SAUDI ARABIA

Conundrum of contradictory medical studies on social media

May 19, 2018

Saudi Gazette report

MEMBERS of the public worry and feel concerned when they read or hear about contradictions in medical studies that are promoted on social media websites. Lately, several studies on the importance of water in man’s life were posted on these websites, causing a great confusion among the public, Al-Riyadh daily reported. Some studies say drinking too much water is healthy and helps treat many diseases and reduce weight while other USA studies said not drinking too much water does not have any impact on human health, recommending members of the public to drink water when they are thirsty only.

The same studies noted that drinking water has nothing to do with weight reduction. In fact, there are countless studies with contradictory results, especially the benefits of nutrients and different diets, which confound people. Another case in point is that some doctors promote the use of certain medications while others warn the patients about the possible side effects.

Muhammad Al-Sinan, a healthcare professional, said doctors do disagree sometimes about the prescription of certain medications, as this is something natural in light of the different medical schools and references. Doctors might also differ on the mode of medical treatment, some might believe that the treatment must be surgical in order to cure the ailment, and thus make the patient undergo a surgery, whereas others might opt for therapy or other modes of treatment. Despite the fact that the end results in either case could be totally different or act as the medium of cure. It is then, when the cure happens, that people swear by the mode to give apparent weightage to a particular thought. This, however, does not necessarily mean that the doctor who prefers to operate on the patient is wrong, or the doctor who prefers to use medicine to cure is wrong. As a science, medicine has many branches and schools.

“Involving the patient in the decision of medical treatment is part of his rights. The patient has the right to partake in the decision-making process. Of course, some doctors do, unfortunately, market certain medication for personal benefit and some even try to market medications that are out of their line of specialization and this can create issues and result in mistakes,” Al-Sinan pointed out.

“Medicine is a humane profession and its primary aim is to save the life of human being. A doctor spends a long time of his life learning and acquiring knowledge in addition to practice. Unfortunately, some doctors try to increase their income by promoting less effective medications, because they have been lured into the web with hefty commissions from pharmaceutical companies to prescribe their company drug even if the patient does not need it or would have been better off with other drugs. This is viewed as indirect bribe and breach of public trust,” said Al-Sinan

Adel Abdo, former director of Middle East Center of Strategic Studies, said medicine as a science has departed from its straight and narrow path of humanitarian mission: Primarily being saving human lives. “In today’s world many doctors care only about money, especially at the private hospitals which tend to make patients undergo unnecessary medical checkups, just for money. Some pharmacies convince patients to switch to more expensive medications just for money. In some cases, the doctors and the pharma companies and the pharmacies are in cahoots to push their medicines ahead of others, despite the price and effectivity, all in the name of commissions.”

He called on the Ministry of Health to take stringent action against these people and respond swiftly with confirmed proof to put an end to a series of contradictory studies and explain to the general public the basic claims in the study, the pros and cons and the properties of the medicines and its reactions to provide a stamp of authority on what is right and what is wrong.

Bayer Company, one of the famous global pharmaceutical companies, called on the general public to take every study with a pinch of salt. It said the public should not believe any medical studies promoted on the social media websites, urging them to go and see specialized doctors and get the right medical treatment. They also asked people to go to the roots of the study to find out if it was factual and trustworthy, and not just another frivolous effort by a group of people or a competing firm, before even accepting the findings. The company also advised patients not to take any medication unless a certified doctor prescribes it and not go to the pharmacy for an over the counter purchase.


May 19, 2018
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