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Please don’t misinterpret my remarks. Medical science has come a long way. We are well beyond the time when we took mentally disturbed patients and locked them up. Thank goodness we have appropriate antibiotics to eradicate infections. In the United States killers such as tuberculosis and polio are rare. There are wonderful drugs for hypertension, cholesterol management, and diabetes; though, perhaps, many of our afflictions are related to lifestyle issues such as obesity, cigarette smoking and lack of exercise, not to mention the stresses of life in the 21st Century. Most certainly the pharmaceutical industry has made wonderful positive contributions to improving our health.

Do be advised: When you go to the doctor and ask, “Is this pill right for me?”, beware.

Jeff Hilb, a retired Louisville physician, is a Forum Fellow.

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