Proud to be a Yardie!!
I have to give the author of this letter to the Gleaner a warm Jamaican BIG UP, as I think he has said a mouthful here. I know full well, that there are many people from foreign lands who by virtue of never having visited here, and because of the foreign media and its influence, only are aware of the bad that exists in our small, but wonderful country. I do believe that the best way to learn about another country is to go there. However, that is not always possible. When that is the case, we tend to rely on the writings and documentaries of REPUTABLE journalists to give us a true picture of what is going on. I feel that I (not that I consider myself any journalist) and even more so, my bredren Mad Bull have been able to give you all some insight into the real Jamaica……. both good and bad. There are times when we cuss what’s going down in this place. And when things are on the up, we give it our RESPEC DUE!! All that said, love it or hate it, this is OUR country and though everything here may not be perfect, me love it! Don’t mess with Jamdown!
Change of pace. Work was pretty hectic yesterday. First of all, I had to be the bearer of bad news to a patient. The one I had mentioned in a previous post with Molluscum contagiosum that I had asked to do an HIV test, has indeed turned up positive! For all those of you who think I am any likkle eediat docta, I have news for you. My clinical acumen is not bad at all (after all, without boasting, I am a UHWI Medical graduate 
).
Anyhow, I broke the news to him in a very compassionate way, and gave him whatever counselling I could. I also told him about the importance of getting sexual partner(s) tested and stressed the importance of condom use ALL THE TIME!!! He was very thankful for the way I handled it. I felt sorry for him, I must admit. Anyhow, I sent him on to get further counselling and to explore the possibility of antiretroviral therapy (drugs to keep his viral load low), providing he can afford it, as they are not cheap.
After that, I was at work ’till about midnight last night as we have a very ill patient. We are working to salvage her, but things look grim right now. I hope she pulls through. As a result of all the night work at the hospital, me kinda tiyad still. Anyhow, not to fret, me going on leave on Thursday. I guess the hard work before going is the payoff.
Hear what? I man getting hungry, so me going go hold a food still. (Guess what? I am getting hungry so I am going to get something to eat.) Cool runnins.
November 2nd, 2002 at 11:01 pm That’s so sad. I could never be a doctor and tell people that they’re going to die.
November 2nd, 2002 at 11:30 pm Big up Doc… Bummer re the sick patients, dood!
November 3rd, 2002 at 12:14 am Melissa, it is never easy to have to break bad news to patients or their relatives. I have been on the receiving end as well, so I know what it feels like. I will never forget the day when the doctors told me that “There is nothing more that we can do!” Referring to my Mother’s illness, even though I knew that what they were saying was true. I went home and soaked my pillow with tears. It is hard even remembering the incident. Mad Bull, I guess it’s part of my work, similar to when the system at your job crashes. Only difference is that when the ’system’ in my work crashes, it can mean the life of a patient, in your case, the only ass on the line is yours and the rest of the IT crew. Usually in your case, it can be fixed by playing around on the keyboard. Nuh true my yute??? And that is no diss either, all work is important. Respec.
November 3rd, 2002 at 12:47 am i think it’s sad that the difference between living with AIDS and dying from it, is money. and you know the actual cost of the drugs is nowhere near what is charged for it — i think it’s criminal that pharmaceutical companies are allowed to prevent these drugs from being produced generically at a drastically reduced rate.
November 3rd, 2002 at 9:23 am kd, actually, the pharmaceutical companies have made these drugs available here at a drastically reduced cost. Despite this, they are still pretty costly for the average individual here. Bear in mind that we have a high unemployment rate here, and government is not providing antiretroviral medication to the public. Sad indeed. It makes me feel ‘impotent’ (for want of a better word)…….I know what you need to be helped, but I can’t give it to you, that scenario happens too frequently here. Yet still, the people have shown their confidence in the present administration by the result of the last election. I don’t know……..
November 3rd, 2002 at 10:03 am kd, the public in general has a very distorted view of the pharmaceutical industry and as a result inaccurate charges get hurled all the time. Virtually every manufacturer of drugs to treat HIV infection offers these drugs to poor countries AT COST. In fact in just the last few weeks it was announced that larger doses of key HIV medications are now available for less than the previous individual doses due to manufacturing improvements. Drug companies are a very easy and convenient target when it comes to discussions about healthcare costs. The next time you think of “criminaI” drug companies hindering the availability of drugs to the poor, investigate the matter a bit more for example by typing Mectizan into a search engine. I don’t want to monopolize Dr.D’s blog on this topic. However, if you are interested in a more complete and factual discussion of drug R&D costs, drug pricing and patent protection feel free to e-mail me privately and I will answer any questions you have. There are two sides to every story and on this topic it is rare that I see the other side being offered. Dr.D did touch on it some.
November 3rd, 2002 at 1:22 pm Tyroc, feel free to offer your input as you have, I am no expert on the pharmaceutical side of things. Thanks for what you have said.
November 4th, 2002 at 1:52 am Dr.D, I think the public needs to know that drug patents exist for a reason. They are meant to encourage and reward research innovation and risk taking. When one of your patient’s fills a prescription for medication, all they see is a bottle of small white tablets. They don’t see the 10 years of research costs that made that drug a reality. They don’t see the 20,000 other compounds that were made for every 1 that sussessfully makes it to market. They don’t see all the development costs that ensured that the pills they are about to take was proven to be safe and effective. A generic drug company has zero research costs. They have only manufacturing costs which is why the drugs are cheaper. The system of patents was meant to provide a measure of fairness. In return for putting up the research costs, a drug company is granted a certain period of marketing exclusivity to recoup their R&D costs and to make a profit. After that the generic companies are allowed to come in. And yes I said a profit. A drug company is a business just like any other. Their researchers and employees don’t work for free. There seems to be a misconception that scientists work for the love of science without regard to compensation. Very few people work for free and research scientists are no different. If their jobs paid next to nothing they would likely find other work. Most of us like to be paid a reasonable wage for doing a job that we enjoy regardless of the nature of the job. Should all hospitals be free? If not, why should drugs? These facts are often lost on the public because of the role drugs play in saving and / or improving quality of life. Does the public ever ask itself why generic manufacturers don’t just team up with academicians, discover drugs and make them available to the public for cost or less? Afterall there are lots of really smart scientists at universities and government labs and there are lots of generic drug manufacturers. Fact is, such a team would face the same scientific and financial challenges that a standalone drug company does and the costs of the resulting drugs wouldn’t be as cheap as when R&D costs are zero. Like I said, because of the nature of the AIDS crisis, many AIDS drugs are provided to poor countries at cost. That doesn’t sit too well with some activists in the USA who advocate that these drugs be made available here also at cost. When AZT came out it was hailed as a wonder drug. Not so now. If the drug companies had simply stopped there we would not have the newer more potent meds we have now. If one were diagnosed today, would one want AZT or the state of the art? Who should fund the state of the art? Move beyond AIDs. If you are diagnosed with any disease X, would you be willing to say to your doctor, “Please prescribe the 15 year old medication which is now generic. I don’t want the current state of the art treatment.” Again I ask, who should pay for the costs of the state of the art. Research is a long and very costly endeavor. Scientist don’t just retire to the lab for a few days and cook up the next drug to meet the next medical need. It is a lot more complicated and costly than that. I hope that this helps your readers understand in part why they pay what they pay when they go to the pharmacy.
November 4th, 2002 at 6:57 am Well Tyroc, you have presented your case well. I guess readers will infer that you are a research chemist yourself. I know only too well what is needed to get a drug passed and how much is spent in so doing. Despite this, I do not think there are many who are interested in hearing this. They still would like to know that they can get good medication for next to nothing. The long and short of it is that health insurance is key, as what the government is providing is minimal!