The Show
Everyone in healthcare should watch the show Dopesick on Hulu. Dramatic and overly biased it may be, however, it will cause your brain to work regardless of the operation of the creative or analytical side. The villains, Pardue Pharma and the Sackler family, versus the victims, specifically blue-collar workers in Appalachia and Maine. Third-party event crashers, the FDA and the Justice Department, also enter this complex spider web. Of course, whenever large amounts of money are involved politics is interjected and this show does not neglect that fact.
The “Facts”
Although not ignorant to the fact this is a show, and thus the directors have taken certain liberties in the depiction of certain characters and the action of said characters, after viewing Dopesick, I have to wonder how America will view a certain doctor currently in front of the nation daily, spouting out the “facts” about Covid and vaccines. After all, he represents the FDA who allowed a label to be put on Oxycontin that said it was non-addictive. That proved to be factual! Right?
The Quick Fix
In this show, our hero turned villain, turned hero doctor (played by Michael Keaton) was very cautious at the beginning regarding the overuse of opioids. Without playing spoiler, he was eventually worn down by the young, energetic yet conflicted Pardue Pharma representative and began to prescribe Oxycontin for any type of pain his patients had. After all, the FDA said it was non-addictive. An increase in dosage and usage occurred and well…..you will have to watch to get the rest of the story.
What They Missed
From my perspective, they should have included the proper use of labs in this story. Never was it mentioned how drug testing for these patients was appropriate to monitor their use of the prescribed medication. Perhaps saving a few lives or is that wishful thinking. Change in brain chemistry was minimally addressed as was the drug Suboxone. Perhaps those subject matters were not dramatic enough to make the show interesting or will these imaginative minds write a season 2. Not in the works as I write this although we all know the seasons of addiction appear to be endless.
Everyone discusses the killer in the room, Covid, yet the omnipresent disease of addiction associated with Opioid abuse has existed for much longer and has become more prominent since the pandemic began. We tend to speak of this in hushed tones due to the stigma associated with it. One fail of the movie is not screaming from the mountain tops this disease crosses all boundaries and barriers. It is not, as depicted, just an Appalachia problem. It permeates our society at all levels.
How ILDP Can Help
We are here to help. ILDP works with all sorts of clinics and centers to help develop appropriate drug testing to better serve your patients. Watch the show. Feel their pain and remember they are people like everyone else. Thank you for your business.
President/CEO Industry Lab Diagnostic Partners