Patient sparks outrage with photo of upsetting sighting inside doctor’s office: ‘Pathetic’
One Redditor stirred up discussion by sharing a dystopian device hanging on the wall in an exam room.
A for-profit medical system has hobbled the United States for decades. In the 1980s, it was christened the medical industrial complex; the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health describes this as “the aggressive entry into medicine of for-profit entities with shareholders.”
Unfortunately, one patient had to contend with one of the tendrils of this complex. In a post, they shared a photo from their doctor’s office, writing, “The exam room in my doctor’s office has rolling advertisements for drugs.”
Photo Credit: Reddit
Advertising for medications is rampant on television. According to Digiday, “Prescription drug brands collectively accounted for 13%” of TV ads in 2025.
One study published in Prevention Science examined how marketing may have a negative impact on human health. It determined that certain industries, including the pharmaceutical sector, “promote harmful products but also obscure their negative health impacts to avoid regulatory scrutiny.”
With the nature of American health care, it can be challenging to get quality care and an attentive doctor. When you are also bombarded with advertising about medications and cures, it can erode your understanding of your own health.
Other users jumped in to add their experiences and complaints.
“I’m impressed. I didn’t think healthcare in the U.S. could be more pathetic,” one person wrote.
Someone else explained how their doctor had been corrupted: “The check-in app has ads too. They change the color of the buttons so you can easily get in a cycle of the same two pages. Most patients are older, so the front desk has to do it for them.”
Another commenter suggested a little vandalism, saying, “I’m not usually an advocate for the destruction of property, but the power cord is clearly visible and in cutting range.”
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