Thread: Dr. Drew stfu about Whitney Houston's addictive "disease".

Just saw Dr. Drew on CNN running his mouth about Whitney Houston. We're still waiting for the results of her toxicology test. But, I guess that's not stopping the good doctor from exploiting her death for all it's worth. No where did I hear him mention that he's not the family doctor, or has ever spoken to their doctor, or even with Whitney. That's not to say he didn't. Just I haven't heard him make that disclaimer. I'm also certain that he was invited on the show to give his opinion. The question is why?

I don't watch Dr. Drew's rehab show for a lot of reasons. First and foremost, I think patients shouldn't have their addictive treatment aired on the television for all to see. If they agree go to on, that's on them thought. I just don't have all that much respect for a doctor that seeking the spotlight on the television. I recall Dr. Drew being on another show before that. It was him and some obnoxious comedian. I don't recall what it was called. But, it was obvious then that Dr. Drew was willing to pimp himself out. Also, tele-rehab's success is measured by ratings, not actual results. There may, or may not be, information as to the actual success rate of Drew's efforts.

I sent CNN, Anderson Cooper, a tweet, requesting that the next time Drew is on, that he provide a background into his involvement in the Houston medical case. I also suggested that, if he's going to have doctors on advancing the so-called "disease concept" of addiction, that he balance the segment with those who disagree with Drew. I didn't mention this in my tweet, but I found it to be in complete and utter bad taste for Drew to be second guessing family members, or friends - without their being there to respond - about their comments, with regards to Whitney Houston no longer being an addict.
Again, Drew is not Whitney Houston's doctor. As far as I know, he hasn't examined her, spoken to her, or had any interaction with her what so ever. It's unethical for him to provide a mental health evaluation on her under those circumstances -especially publicly.

It may well be that Houston's doctor developed a treatment plan that wasn't consistent with Drew's personal views on addiction. It may well have been that her friends and relatives were commenting as a result of having personal knowledge of this treatment plan. Drew doesn't know if Houston personally proscribed to the "disease concept" approach to recovery - whether her doctor did, or other involved in her treatment. Again, it's unethical for him to publicly brand Whitney Houston an incurable addict, without also stating whether he has a vested personal or financial interest in stating so. Namely, a rehab show where he advances his personal ideas and concepts, or any other interest. If he's going to advance these ideas, he should state clearly that it's his personal opinion, made without the consent, or knowledge of her doctor - of which other experts in the field disagree.

This is just the final part of the deal made by someone who decides to live their life in the public eye.

As far as Dr. Drew. Not my cup of tea. A little too sappy for me. I have no problem with his shows though as everyone is signing on for it voluntarily and though I don't think they will probably get the help they need they are perhaps serving as good negative role models for those who watch.

Originally Posted by the watchman

It's unethical for him to provide a mental health evaluation on her under those circumstances -especially publicly.

How exactly did he "provide" a mental health evaluation? It appears he gave nothing more than his opinion on a matter, just like anyone else does. That isn't suspended just because one has an MD or PhD. It would be unethical to evaluate a patient under very loose knowledge of their condition.

I like Celebrity Rehab. Since they don't have a show like this with regular people (I doubt many people would watch it) it is a rare glimpse into the process that people go through when trying to get sober. There is a long line of alcoholics in my family and I confess to enjoying watching them suffer.

And he has some interesting views on things such as the "trigger/reward" system, which IMO explains a lot of behavior coming from addicts where they basically set themselves up to fail. While he promotes the AA approach also, he gets into underlying causes of addiction, which I personally find interesting.

As to the exploitation of Whitney Houston to advance awareness of prescription drug abuse, I am somewhat on the fence about that. Oddly enough, it seems to me the COD of many celebrities is combinations of prescription drugs as opposed to flat out overdosing. I think there's a perception that if a doctor gives you a drug it's okay to take it and that's a subject I think the public needs to be aware of, however what often happens with scrutiny over doctors overprescribing drugs to a celebrity is that doctors become reluctant to subscribe drugs to people who may actually need them without extensive testing, ect.

This makes treatment for pain or anxiety even more out of reach for people without health insurance than it already is. And I really doubt this helps in the case of a celebrity who isn't going to have any problem getting any sort of drugs they want, prescription or otherwise. Most people who take medication for legitimate problems such as chronic pain don't abuse them, but the perception by the public often results in "crackdowns" by authorities, and the people who don't abuse the drugs are just as likely to have access to them restricted as the ones who are. Since the election in 2010, here in OH, we now have a task force trying to curb the use of prescription drugs to prevent abuse. I hate to see that sort of approach as I feel treating everyone like a potential addict is the way to go.

Originally Posted by Blueneck

I like Celebrity Rehab. Since they don't have a show like this with regular people (I doubt many people would watch it) it is a rare glimpse into the process that people go through when trying to get sober. There is a long line of alcoholics in my family and I confess to enjoying watching them suffer.

And he has some interesting views on things such as the "trigger/reward" system, which IMO explains a lot of behavior coming from addicts where they basically set themselves up to fail. While he promotes the AA approach also, he gets into underlying causes of addiction, which I personally find interesting.

As to the exploitation of Whitney Houston to advance awareness of prescription drug abuse, I am somewhat on the fence about that. Oddly enough, it seems to me the COD of many celebrities is combinations of prescription drugs as opposed to flat out overdosing. I think there's a perception that if a doctor gives you a drug it's okay to take it and that's a subject I think the public needs to be aware of, however what often happens with scrutiny over doctors overprescribing drugs to a celebrity is that doctors become reluctant to subscribe drugs to people who may actually need them without extensive testing, ect.

This makes treatment for pain or anxiety even more out of reach for people without health insurance than it already is. And I really doubt this helps in the case of a celebrity who isn't going to have any problem getting any sort of drugs they want, prescription or otherwise. Most people who take medication for legitimate problems such as chronic pain don't abuse them, but the perception by the public often results in "crackdowns" by authorities, and the people who don't abuse the drugs are just as likely to have access to them restricted as the ones who are. Since the election in 2010, here in OH, we now have a task force trying to curb the use of prescription drugs to prevent abuse. I hate to see that sort of approach as I feel treating everyone like a potential addict is the way to go.

Kinda says it all

I have to admitt that the first thoughts I had was that she relapsed into drugs. Yes I did pre-judge but at least herfe where we run our mouths the audienced is miniscule compared to the "Good Doctor"...... is that Gebonee in posession of some kind of doctorate ?

Originally Posted by Bluegrass

How exactly did he "provide" a mental health evaluation? It appears he gave nothing more than his opinion on a matter, just like anyone else does. That isn't suspended just because one has an MD or PhD. It would be unethical to evaluate a patient under very loose knowledge of their condition.

Among other things, by referring to how the brain of an addict supposedly works and applying that analysis to Whitney Houston's behavior specifically. If it wasn't his intent that it be taken as a evaluation, he should clearly state that. He appeared on the show in his capacity of a so-called medical and mental health expert, for the purpose of providing that analysis. At the very least, the difference between providing his expert medical, mental health opinion, and providing a mental health evaluation is a fine line, which he should have clarified - so as to eliminate any confusion, or the appearance of impropriety.

Originally Posted by Blueneck

I like Celebrity Rehab. Since they don't have a show like this with regular people (I doubt many people would watch it) it is a rare glimpse into the process that people go through when trying to get sober. There is a long line of alcoholics in my family and I confess to enjoying watching them suffer.

And he has some interesting views on things such as the "trigger/reward" system, which IMO explains a lot of behavior coming from addicts where they basically set themselves up to fail. While he promotes the AA approach also, he gets into underlying causes of addiction, which I personally find interesting.

As to the exploitation of Whitney Houston to advance awareness of prescription drug abuse, I am somewhat on the fence about that. Oddly enough, it seems to me the COD of many celebrities is combinations of prescription drugs as opposed to flat out overdosing. I think there's a perception that if a doctor gives you a drug it's okay to take it and that's a subject I think the public needs to be aware of, however what often happens with scrutiny over doctors overprescribing drugs to a celebrity is that doctors become reluctant to subscribe drugs to people who may actually need them without extensive testing, ect.

This makes treatment for pain or anxiety even more out of reach for people without health insurance than it already is. And I really doubt this helps in the case of a celebrity who isn't going to have any problem getting any sort of drugs they want, prescription or otherwise. Most people who take medication for legitimate problems such as chronic pain don't abuse them, but the perception by the public often results in "crackdowns" by authorities, and the people who don't abuse the drugs are just as likely to have access to them restricted as the ones who are. Since the election in 2010, here in OH, we now have a task force trying to curb the use of prescription drugs to prevent abuse. I hate to see that sort of approach as I feel treating everyone like a potential addict is the way to go.

Can't add much to this. Unfortunately, the times that I've tuned in to Drew's show I wasn't impressed. I'll have to leave in on long enough to see how he interacts with his clients a little more. The trigger/reward approach is something I've heard promising things about. I'd be interested in hearing his take on it and/or to see it applied in a recovery setting. Thanks for the info on that.

I don't know what it is exactly between doctor's and celebrities. For some reason we're seeing more and more issues with the way medication is being proscribed ,where celebrities are involved. Doctor's can't come on tv themselves and provide details regarding specific cases, due to privacy issues. So what we end up getting is a lot of speculation - unless the doctor is brought to court. Then it becomes a public spectacle with the news media reporting what they think is pertinent, as opposed to what's really useful to the public.

I've got an acquaintance that was studying to become a pharmacist. She ultimately decided against the profession for religious reasons. But, I know that we have a proscription monitoring system administered by the State her in Cali. Or we used to before the 2012 budget cuts. Not sure what we have now. It was set up to prevent proscription drug abuses. Along with that, there are protocols for doctor's and pharmacist that should also prevent abuse. Cali has more than it's share of celebrities though, who seem to easily find a way around any monitoring system or normal protocols - if they really want to.

If the passing of Whitney Houston leads to more informative coverage on the activities of pharmaceutical lobbyist, I think that would be a good thing, btw.