Big profits in drugging seniors
DRUG BUST Alan Cassels
T
described in the brochures as “deluxe” he problem with trying to develop and “elegant” and usually adorned with a good conspiracy theory these ghastly peach stucco. The market is days is that commerce inevitably being harnessed for this expected horde spoils your theory. It’s a trick to weave a of greying customers, but like any marconspiracy theory that doesn’t sound too wacko because what seems conspiratoket where profit maximization is the rial is actually normal business patholgoal, how do you expand to attract and ogy at work. then satisfy investors? How does one I tripped over this stark fact recently “grow” the market? when my friend Wendy, an expert in For an immediate jolt of the reality consumer health issues, laughed when of what life is like for the majority of she let slip that she thought there was a older people, peek into their medicine conspiracy between the pharmaceutical cabinets. You’ll find a veritable ocean companies, drug stores, investors, and of drugs: stool softeners and laxatives, the builders and operators of new, longpain relievers, anti-coagulants, vitamin term care facilities for the elderly. That supplements, drugs to alter cholesterol, seemed wacko enough for me to take a blood pressure, blood sugar, mood, anxicloser look. ety and your libido and drugs to improve There are many businesses eager bone density. About 20% of Canada’s population is 60 or older and this group to capitalize on the growing market to consumes about 60% of all prescribed provide housing, meals and medical treatments and half the national pretreatments for the elderly, but to say it’s scription drug bill. On average, each a massive potential market is an understatement. As the fastest growing demoCanadian consumes about 13 prescripgraphic group in Canada – by 2030, the tions per year, yet among the truly heavy population of people over 85 will grow drug users – most of whom would be three times as big as it is now – those among the elderly – it’s not unusual to people, the majority of whom will be find people routinely swallowing 30 or women, will need somewhere to live 40 prescribed pills per day. and supports of all kinds to keep them This is not automatically a problem alive. as some of those drugs may be servIt used to be that we expected pubing a valuable purpose, but on a practilic money to provide adequate housing cal level, for anyone trying to manage and care for Grandma, but not anymore, 30 pills a day – some to be taken in the at least not in any serious way. We’ve morning, some at mid-day, some before “modernized” by embracing the market, meals, some after meals and some before largely getting governments out of the bed, etc., etc. – it can be a nightmare. business of constructing and regulating Even a person whose elevator goes all care homes. We’ve switched to relying the way to the top would have trouble on private real estate developers and trying to press the right buttons if they contracts with private “care agencies” to had the complex drug regime faced by service the needs of the elderly. many older people every day. Take a look at almost any community Human ingenuity has countered this in BC and you’ll find fresh examples of problem with the dosette, or bubble sprouting condo developments, retirepack, a package of clear bubbles usually ment villas, “assisted” and “indepencontaining a week’s worth of medica���������������������������������������������������������������� dent living” communities, unfailingly tions arranged with a column for each
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APRIL 2008
