[fb03]

Overeagerness to prescribe. Other countries have similar problems too.

Conversely, the country I live has a benzo problem. Hell, go into any doctor complaining you haven't been sleeping properly and he'll happily prescribe you clonazepam to help you with that. You have just been prescribed an addictive and strong psychoactive drug, just like that. He won't care if you have been working too much, or not eating or sleeping well, he will not care at all about possible factors that may be causing your current insomnia.

"take this and come back to reassess in 2 months", the doctor will say, and ofc, in 2 months you will come back saying this helped immensely, and from that there's a whole slew of problems that everyone knows: try to wane off it, insomnia comes back, sometimes worse. or maybe some new anxiety gets thrown in....

They want money, because if they wanted you to get well they you'd be treating the cause of your symptoms and not your symptoms :D

[sergior]

> and from that there's a whole slew of problems

That's the whole point - doctors have more work, so they can ask for more money and pharmaceutical companies make a killing. Doctors are not interested in curing their patients nowadays, they are interested in making money for pharma.

[tedsanders]

What's the evidence backing the explanation of overeagerness to prescribe?

I know a handful of doctors as well as pain patients, but I'm curious to get more context outside of the small bubble I know.

[fb03]

totally anecdotal, yes, but reading several local news articles about the 'benzo epidemic' here I think doctors just don't care. It's easier for them to just walk you out after 3 minutes of consultation instead of trying to solve the puzzle in front of them. It's also more profitable to them as well so you can see how dangerous this can turn for us... doctors aren't exempt from corruption.