America, contrary to popular perception, is a remarkably corrupt country. The efforts taken to legitimise what would be de-facto corruption elsewhere can be astonishing to witness.
The simplest common corruption would be doctors pushing (”prescribing”) new medication to unwitting patients at the behest of Big Pharma, for veiled kickbacks. The areas most inflicted by this corruption, in medicine, pertains to psychology and psychiatry.
I have thought for years that there must be a kickback system for prescribing doctors to profit from all the drugs that are advertised on TV with suggestions to “ask your doctor” about all these new and different names.
In recent years targets for blood pressure, cholesterol and blood sugar have been lowered and I have long suspected that the real reason was to sell the drugs. A lot of people probably should be on trial for pushing prescription drugs that have done far more harm than good. I have even heard of one doctor who is supposed to have told patients they need to keep their blood sugar between 70 and 100. My personal experience has been that when mine drops below 85 I have trembling, weakness, cold sweats and just general inability to do anything. I think the best range to be in is 90 to 100 but I would much rather be at 140 or even higher than below 85. I suspect that before dropping to 70 I would be laid out flat in an ambulance headed for an emergency room unless I should be unfortunate enough to be alone somewhere and then I would probably pass out. I have been warned by doctors and nurses that low sugar is much quicker in doing damage and even being life threatening than high blood sugar and I have had personal experience with people who become impossible to live with and even violent if their blood sugar drops a little too low, yet I keep hearing lower and lower target recommendations.
As far as cholesterol is concerned I have done some research of my own and I am far more afraid of the medicines prescribed for high cholesterol than I will ever be of my cholesterol. I advise anyone to be very, very, cautious about taking medicines to lower cholesterol. There was even one medicine that was advertised for a time on TV with an on screen disclaimer saying that there was no evidence that it would lower the risk of heart attack, stroke or death.