Building Big Markets for Big Pharma

Wayne State University Department of Anthropology presents

Dr. Linda Hunt
Professor & Medical Anthropologist
Michigan State University

"Building Big Markets for Big Pharma"

Why do so many people take so many drugs? Nearly half of Americans are currently on one or more prescription drugs for common chronic conditions such as hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes-conditions now diagnosed at ever increasing rates. Contributing are changing diagnostic standards, increased auditing of treatment practices, aggressive pharmaceutical marketing, and "prescribing cascades," where more drugs are prescribed to counter the effects of already prescribed drugs. Drawing on ethnographic research in primary care clinics in the US, Dr. Hunt examines the impact of such factors on individual clinicians and patients and consider the logic and practical forces that combine to promote and sustain this trend.

Dr. Hunt (Ph.D Harvard; MA & BA Wayne State) conducts field work & publishes on culture and ethnicity, biomedical culture, healthcare policy and medical education. She has been funded by the NIH, NSF, the American Cancer Society, and the State of Michigan.

Welcome Center Auditorium
October 27, 4:30 - 6:00 pm