Overprescribed

The U.S. population is growing but not nearly as fast as the rate at which prescriptions are being prescribed.  Why is this happening and does it represent a statistic worthy of concern? Show note links: Research from The Commonwealth Fund titled "Paying for Prescription Drugs Around the World: Why is the U.S. an Outlier?" CDC annual number of new cancers 1999-2015 - no big decrease in numbers Prescriptions dispensed 2009 - 2016 Prescription drug expenditure (how much are we spending in the U.S. on prescriptions) 1960 - 2018 From today's "In the News" segment: More than a third of American adults take prescription drugs linked to depression, study says by Carolyn Y. Johnson Questions rise over Accutane side effects following a woman's murder by Rick Sallinger. The brand name Accutane was discontinued back in 2009 but the generic name isotretinoin is still on the market under other brand and generic names. Read what the FDA has to say about this drug's safety. Government-funded treatment center forcibly inject