Excessive proliferation of medical drugs

Nature

Excessive proliferation of medical drugs refers to the rapid and often unnecessary increase in the number and variety of pharmaceutical products available on the market. This phenomenon can lead to confusion among healthcare providers and patients, increased risk of medication errors, higher healthcare costs, and the potential for inappropriate prescribing. It may also contribute to issues such as polypharmacy, drug interactions, and antibiotic resistance. The problem is driven by factors including aggressive pharmaceutical marketing, regulatory loopholes, and the pursuit of profit, raising concerns about the overall quality, safety, and rational use of medications in healthcare systems.

Background

The excessive proliferation of medical drugs emerged as a global concern in the late 20th century, when international health agencies and researchers observed a dramatic increase in the number and variety of pharmaceuticals entering markets worldwide. This trend was first highlighted by the World Health Organization in the 1970s, as reports linked drug overabundance to regulatory challenges, irrational prescribing, and escalating healthcare costs, prompting ongoing scrutiny of pharmaceutical practices and their implications for public health.

Incidence

The average physician has some 50,000 drugs from which to choose when writing out a prescription. Few are able to make effective use of more than 100.

In many countries the proliferation of drugs results in prescriptions that read like a shopping list, and in many unnecessary "medicines" being sold. In 1982 the Bangladesh government reckoned that one third of the money spent on drugs was wasted on totally useless tonics, vitamins and other dubious preparations.

Claim

The proliferation in the use of medical drugs is a result of: over-prescription by doctors; the discovery of new drugs (a boom over the last decade); an increase in concern about and awareness of personal health on the part of the general public; and increasing belief in the efficacy of drugs for the majority of physical and psychological disorders on the part both of doctors and the public. Although the World Health Organization has drawn up a "Model list of Essential Drugs", with only some 220 drugs and vaccines, pharmaceutical companies continue to produce new variations and the total marketed worldwide is around 30,000.

Counter-claim

The over-prescription by doctors is not a guiding force in the development of new drugs. It is a fact that new drugs coming on the market are more efficient the previous ones, otherwise they would not be approved for market.