Drug- centred health model is costly and deadly

Re: Health care issues engender pride and criticism, Letters, Feb. 20

The president of the Health Sciences Association of B. C. states, “Pharmacists ensure effective and safe treatment of patients.”

In his book Death by Medicine, Gary Null, PHD, asserts the leading cause of death in North America is the health care system itself, and of those deaths, more than 100,000 are caused by reactions to legally prescribed prescription drugs.

In the March 2012 edition of Reader’s Digest, the article Bitter Pills states: “More than 2,500 Canadian kids die from ( prescription drugs) each year and many more develop permanent disabilities such as heart damage and loss of hearing.”

Some other examples: life- threatening skin reactions to ibuprofen, anaphylactic reactions to antibiotics and destruction of bone tissue from corticosteroids.

What Canada should have is a patient- centred health care system, but what we have is a drug- centred health care system. To save costs and lives, I believe the first requirement is to drastically reduce the number and uses of prescription drugs; many alternatives are available.

What we urgently need are politicians with the courage to stand up and re- direct health care away from its current model.

ROGER PRATT Nelson