Too much money spent on unnecessary drugs for indigestion

A fascnating article in the BMJ this week focuses on the large amounts of money spent world wide on drugs for acid reflux indigestion when there are better, cheaper and safer drugs readily available. The drugs in question include nexium. prilosec, prevacid and other widely advertised drugs. The article questions why, after extensive education aimed at prescribers, there was no change in prescribing behavior. For fifty years doctors have been prescribing antibiotics for viral infections on demand by patients. Why should their prescribing for indigestion be different? It may be time to limit drug advertising. There is little evidence that it has benefitted the public. Politicians cannot be trusted to protect the public; the drug companies pay for their elections. The insurance programs need to refuse to pay for medications when there is little evidence for their benefit compared to medications already available.