High prescription drug prices, long wait times at doctor’s offices, and congestion that pose challenges for people with other medical issues have reportedly led to a phenomenon of concern among that group: DIY medical care. NPRTo save money and hassle, patients are creating their own combinations of treatments — weight loss pills, wound ointments, abortion pills — and gathering in online communities to share their tips.These hacks have experts baffled. Axios “This is frightening and I can’t stress enough that patients should talk to their doctors,” Dr. Bruce Scott, president of the American Medical Association, told the outlet.
404 Media The Post also reports on the right to heal one’s own body, a slogan promoted by a company that teaches people how to make their own medicines cheaply. For example, “a course of the abortion drug misoprostol can be made for 89 cents (its regular price is $160),” the Post noted. People are also taking a do-it-yourself stance when it comes to medical testing after doctors have ruled out illness or failed to identify a cause, the Post reported. The Washington Post.
But like making your own medicine, taking at-home tests without a doctor’s supervision can be a “dangerous lawless zone of medical information,” the paper noted. “At-home testing companies and influencers are creating a marketplace that preys on people’s very normal concerns about their health,” says one Pennsylvania gynecologist. Dr. Michael Snyder of Denver’s Rose Medical Center told Axios that patients just want to save money “without engaging in medical cheating,” but he warns of the dangers of putting the wrong pill in your body or in an unsanitary way. “If you’re going to jailbreak this stuff, I’d really talk to a doctor,” he says. (More Medical Articles)
