Many physicians are alarmed at the dependency of so many on prescription drugs.  While indeed many advances have been made in medicine allowing for a great deal of ailments to be handled or cured through the use of pharmaceuticals, some contend that doctors are over-dosing America.  Medical malpractice suits make this an even more volatile issue with many doctors over-prescribing in an effort to avert any possible litigation on the part of trial lawyers who claim a physician did not do "everything" that was possible for a patient.

The over-precription and the misuse of those prescriptions has is being blamed for the new threat of drug resistant strains of viruses.  Each year pharmaceutical companies are seraching for a new and stronger anti-biotic just to kill the new stains of so-called "super-bugs".  Further research indicates that the rise in the use of prescriptions has been a root for an increase in drug abuse on the part of patients and the ultimate dependency of the patient on a pharmaceutical product.

The trend is likely to continue until real medical liability reform is pursued.  The real issue of course is the basic acceptance of most of America that a little pill will cure all of their ills.  With the recent pulling of Vioxx and other prescription drugs from the market due to concerns of the drugs potential side effects, that little pill may evenutally end up killing the patient instead of curing them.