Patients and Doctors

This is a sceptical age, but although our faith in many of the things in which our forefathers fervently believed has weakened, our confidence in the curative properties of the bottle of medicine remains the same as theirs. This modern faith in medicines is proved by the fact that the annual drug bill of the Health Services is mounting to astronomical figures and shows no signs at all of ceasing to rise. The majority of the patients attending the medical out-patients departments of our hospitals feel that they have not received adequate treatment unless they are able to carry home with them some tangible remedy in the shape of a bottle of medicine, a box of pills, or a small jar of ointment, and the doctor in charge of the department is only too ready to provide them with these requirements.

There is no quicker method of disposing of patients than by giving them what they are asking for, and since most medical men in the Health Services are overworked and have little time for offering time - consuming and little - appreciated advice on such subjects as diet, right living, and the need for abandoning bad habits etc., the bottle, the box, and the jar are almost always granted them. It is rare for a medical man to give a talk without mentioning the drug companies that finance his research. The more cynical of his profession will even go so far as to claim that "Half of what we are taught about medicine is wrong."

Most doctors, however, still believe that medicine is a science, and they are not prepared to admit that the drugs they prescribe are little more than placebos. They feel that they are being honest when they tell patients that a certain drug may be helpful, but they cannot be certain that it will be. They are also not prepared to admit that the huge sums of money they receive from the drug companies for research are a form of bribery. They believe that their research is for the good of the public and that they are justified in receiving the money.

Few doctors are willing to admit that they are "pill - pushers" and that they prescribe drugs for financial reasons rather than for medical ones. They are afraid that if they do so, they will lose their patients' confidence and that they will no longer be respected as members of a noble profession.

这是一个怀疑一切的时代，可是虽然我们对我们祖先笃信的许多事物已不太相信，我们对瓶装药品疗效的信心仍与祖辈一样坚定。卫生部门的年度药费上升到了天文数字，而且毫无停止上升的迹象，这个事实证实了现代人对药物的依赖。在医院门诊部就医的大多数病人认为，如果不能带一些看得见、摸得着的药物，如一瓶药水、一盒药丸、一小瓶药膏回家的话，就没算得到充分的治疗。负责门诊的医生也非常乐意为前来看病的人提供他们想要的药物。

病人要什么就给什么，没有比这样处理病人更快的方法了。因为卫生部门的大多数医生都超负荷工作，所以没有多少时间提出一些既费时而又不受人欢迎的关于饮食、生活起居以及克服不良习惯必要性的忠告，结果就是把瓶药、盒药、罐药开给看病的人而万事大吉。很少有医生在谈话时不提及资助其研究的制药公司。这个行业中较为愤世嫉俗的人甚至声称：“我们所学的一半医学知识都是错误的。”

然而，大多数医生仍然认为医学是一门科学，而且他们也不愿意承认他们开的药仅仅是安慰剂。当他们告诉病人某种药可能有帮助，但不能肯定其效果时，他们觉得自己是诚实的。他们也不愿意承认从制药公司得到的用于研究的大笔资金是一种贿赂。他们相信自己的研究是为了公众的利益，而且他们得到这笔钱是正当的。

很少有医生愿意承认自己是“药品推销商”，为了金钱而开药而非为了治病。他们担心如果承认了这一点，就会失去病人的信任，而且他们将不再被尊为崇高职业的一员。