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HUT Mill ISO Outlook op Lifestyle 1987 DRGOTT What doctors really recommend After several months during which I scrutinized my mail and carefully analyzed the claims made in televl ads I think I have discovered the stone the secret of how drug companies come up with their four out of five doctor endorsements I thought you might be interested in my theory about bow advertising agen cies doctor the doctors A few times each year I receive solicited checks for I or to compensate me for the time it takes to fill out a short questionnaire on the back of each check In return for endorsing the check I am asked to indicate my prescribing habits about certain drugs Sometimes the ques tions pertain to recently released medicines For example- How often In the past week have I prescribed lacillln the new antibiotic that man all germs on contact Is the price of a mere a pill a for my patients Why would use Gorillacillln in place of other cheaper and more traditional multiple choice More often than not the question asks about my use of common over thocounter drugs For Instance how many times a month do I recom mend aspirin Bayer aspirin amlnophen Tylenol Advil and Doctors recommend a lot of medl cine even medicine that Is not by pre scription We have our favorites Its true However physicians usually make decisions about over counter drugs by using criteria that are in truth somewhat vague de pending on the healer mood the pa age the severity of symptoms the phase of the moon and what comes to mind at the time The office transaction may sound something like this I think you should use some rin for your arthritis Gladys Try It for a week and let me know how you feel Should I use coated aspirin Bayer or Just plain aspirin doctor Well what have you got at home Oh some regular aspirin had In the medicine cabinet for a OK try that if the patient Is a child with a fever a doctor would probably recommend acetaminophen because aspirin Is a suspected cause of syndrome a dangerous brain disorder Use what for my child doctor Acetaminophen what You know acetaminophen Tylenol Oh right I II get some When I get down to filling out the I being more or less honest about this sort of thing ally check off all the drugs Let see I probably recommended aspirin about two dozen times Yes a little Bayer too because three patients preferred that brand Oh sure some acetaminophen or Tylenol a few times Maybe some Advil or Anacin thrown in along the way So It goes The checkquestionnaire clears the bank and returns to he polling company that has been hired to tally up the score by collating the thousands of checks received from nerds like me A few weeks later I am treated to a TV ad proclaiming that four out five doctors prefer Bayer aspirin over competing brands Thats the sage printed on the screen The voice- over says that four out of five physi clans in a survey recommended Bayer And a big difference Doctors recommend a lot of things Recommending Is not synonymous with endorsement or preference nee essarily but there you are In my op drug companies find out what medicine we re using and then fit the data to their own purposes I t be surprised to discover that In reality four of five doctors recommend everything The fifth doctor a pathologist or psychla trlst probably recommend anything I haven t yet figured out how to beat the system It no good to ignore the questionnaires there always will be physicians who will fill out the darned things Maybe doctors should be less forthright and Indicate that we are recommending only the most eso teric and unknown drugs But that won t work cither an obscure drug company will reap the benefits Per haps the answer lies In a public that will eventually discover the truth Doctors prescribing habits are highly Individualized change from day to day and do not mean that one product Is superior to another Identical or similar medicine Meanwhile life in the fast lane of drug promotion goes on MAR MEG Dating a married man is still nogo DEAR MEG Over the years I ve noticed that you always tell women to stay away from married men I at ways agreed with you but now I in love with a married man and its not For two years have adored my boss On the surface we are only friends but I am deeply In love with him I also believe he loves me I sus pect that if we go out for a drink after work we would become lovers but through some unspoken agreement both of us have avoided that I doubt bes ever cheated on his wife but I also doubt that they are sexually Involved She has been a cripple for more than three years I also sense that his love for her Is more compassion than passion He spends his free time with his male friends or at home taking care of his wife I know there are other fish in the sea but I went overboard for him as soon as I got to know him He is a kind sensitive caring person Ivetriedev jk way to get over him but I loved anyone so much He was made for me Meg could you make a case for my becoming Involved with this man even though married LOVE LONGINGS LOS ANGELES DEAR LOVE Sorry If this man Is as good as you say its unlikely bell respond Even If be did what a In It for you A few stolen moments with a man whose priorities don Include you and a bleak future Not to men tlon a broken heart Let him alone DEAR MEG Last summer I dated a man from Paris who has moved to the United States permanently After two dates we made love and then he came to stay at the beach house I rented on Cape Cod I was really be ginning to fall for him He very con tinental and dashing He bad been planning a trip to Mez beore he met me It was sched uled after his visit to the beach He didn Invite me but I thought nothing cf it I t been involved with him long and want to rush Into too much too soon He left saying he would write and call It been two weeks I m starting to feel rejected because I haven heard He due back In a few weeks Should I call him or wait for him to call me SUMMER LOVE MASS DEAR SUMMER It may mean more waiting but I let your Latin lover make the nest move He might be more intrigued if he has to chez la lemme If you dont hear chalk It up to J experience Europeans love the thrill of the chase Going to bed with your man so fast may have been too much too Is your significant other right for you Meg pamphlet LOVE la It the Real Thing has the answers Send to DEAR MEG in care of this newspaper Box Cleve land OH Write to Meg care of this newspa per Meg can only answer letters that contain a selladdressed stamped en velope Questions of general interest will be discussed in future columns lfAfcBAU STEREO ACCESSOfflES FOR OUR HOME AUTOMOTIVE RECORDS TAPES Thursday ft Friday 9 9 m ft CtaiaToKocna 1 Street Georgetown CENTRE fa Choral Concert by the Senior Choir of Rlckmansworth Masonic Girls School and Georgetown Choral Society to mark the Schools 200th Anniversary KNOX PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 8pm NOVEMBER 3rd wide range of music from Sacred to European Folk Songs NO CHARGE TD DEHUT EXPENSES For more information contact Choral Society Member or Norman Holt