Beyond the quick fixes of medications are the causes that lie beneath their need. Addressing health care from a holistic perspective must precede the Rx pad.
President Donald Trump’s revived effort to reduce prescription drug prices is a long-overdue step toward affordability. For millions of Americans, the cost of staying alive has become burdensome, and any policy that eases the burden is worth celebrating.
However, as a physician, I’ve seen what happens when medications become too cheap, plentiful, and automatic. If we don’t reform how drugs are used, we risk trading financial hardship for clinical harm.
Vagaries of Lower Drug Costs
In today’s health care system, medication is the first answer—and often the last, especially for older adults. More than 40 percent of those ages 65 and older take five or more prescriptions daily, nearly double the 24 percent prevalence observed between 1999 and 2000.
Jingduan Yang
M.D.
Dr. Jingduan Yang is a board-certified psychiatrist specializing in integrative and traditional Chinese medicine. He developed the ACES Model of Health and Medicine and leads clinical, educational, and research initiatives. As a principal founder of the Northern School of Medicine and Health Sciences, he advances whole-person care grounded in science, ethics, and humanity.
